


The Trees Have Eyes

by mrcheese5728



Series: If A Tree Falls In The Forest [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (just a bit), Abusive Neil Hargrove, Billy Hargrove Has Powers, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove Loves Plants, Billy Hargrove has Communication Issues, Billy Hargrove is a Mess, Billy Has A Sweet Tooth, Billy Likes Plants More Than People, Billy is a bit ooc, Candy, Child Abuse, Domestic Fluff, Gen, I love Billy I swear, In This House We Love Joyce Byers, Knowing Billy Hargrove, Non-Graphic Violence, Pancakes, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Plant Empathy, Plants, Pre-Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Pre-Relationship, Protective Billy Hargrove, Slushies, Soft Billy Hargrove, The Ferns Love Gossiping, ferns, florakinesis, mostly of his plants but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-06-30 08:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 39,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19849237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrcheese5728/pseuds/mrcheese5728
Summary: Billy wasn’t really sure what he was doing in Hawkins, Indiana. It was a small town, barely on the map, and seemed like the most boring town in the world. Billy knew better though, and he knew a whole other handful of people and every plant in Indiana knew better too. He figured that whoever chose to perform the human experiments at Hawkins Lab was damn smart, because nobody would have suspected a thing.Well, no human. The woods had a whole bunch of stories to tell, and Billy was ready to listen.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> There is a disappointing amount of works where Billy has powers.  
> 

Billy wasn’t really sure what he was doing in Hawkins, Indiana. It was a small town, barely on the map, and seemed like the most boring town in the world. Billy knew better though, and he knew a whole other handful of people and every plant in Indiana knew better too. He figured that whoever chose to perform the human experiments at Hawkins Lab was damn smart, because nobody would have suspected a thing.

Well, no human. The woods had a whole bunch of stories to tell, and Billy was ready to listen.

There weren’t many things that the Cali plants talked about. They were so happy and chipper, and they just wanted sunlight and affection. But these plants, these plants that were stuck in ShitTown, Indiana, wanted to be _heard_. He could hear it over his camaro’s loud engine, over Neils yelling, over the blood rushing through his ears. So Billy finally wandered into the woods, sat next to a bunch of ferns, and asked them to tell him everything.

They spoke about a child without hair that could move things without touching them. They spoke about a gate that led to a place that was the definition of evil. They spoke about a horrible creature that infected everything it touched, and how many more of them were beyond the gate and just how badly they wanted to be on _this_ side. They spoke about 4 children who played games underground, and how a creature dragged one to the other side but came back. They spoke about a girl by water who was dragged and eaten, and how a pair hunted the creature for revenge. They spoke of an old man who wanted this mess out of his town and his people safe. They spoke of how the old man took in the hairless girl. They spoke about how the gate was closed - _but not really_ \- and everyone was settling. 

There was a lot more than that, but they made sure Billy knew _everything_. When the ferns finished their story, they were quiet. 

Billy’s head wasn’t.

Of all the places to have fucking moved, he got stuck with the weird ass sci-fi town with creatures from another dimension and _more human experiments_. He really wasn’t down for more experiments. His own experience was enough.

_Demogorgans. Jane Hopper. The Gate. Will Byers. LSD. Joyce Byers. Experiments. Jim Hopper. Blood. Barbra Holland. Hawkins Lab. Nancy Wheeler. Death. Steve Harrington._

_The Upside Down._

So many names. So many things. Billy really wanted to get the fuck out of this town now. He stood up slowly, legs sore from sitting so long as the plants around him. They seemed relieved now, he noticed. Billy wasn’t really sure how he could sense this, because plants didn’t really have an extremely evident body language. Back in Cali, he had heard whispers of how he might be really sensitive to pheromone and hormone changes, but Billy tried not to think about what happened in Cali too much.

He sighed heavily, trying to process all this information dump that the ferns threw at him. There were already whispers of small strange creatures that didn’t belong in this dimension wandering around town, and he would bet that it’s some kind of demogorgon. 

Billy wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall at the thought.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the chirping of a small flowering dogwood sapling a few feet away. They were so beautiful in the summer, exposing hundreds of flowers and announcing _Winter is Over!_ as loudly as they could to the world. It wasn’t flowering now, summer was _over_ , but it seemed so happy anyway that Billy couldn’t help but smile. Saplings wanted to be beautiful, to grow as great as it can, and to be praised. Billy wanted them to be strong, to be happy, and to be safe.

He didn’t know so much about the last one, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

  
  
  
  



	2. The Demodog In The Fridge

Billy Hargrove does not want to do this. He does not want to skip out on his gardening so he can go find his bitch of a sister, who he's pretty sure is fine wherever she is, and bring her home. He sighs heavily as he shuts the door to the house, and walks towards his camaro. He pauses briefly after opening his car door. 

_‘My loves, do you know where my step sister is?’_ The closest fern perks up in attention. A few moments pass before it answers. ‘ ** _She’s with The Party at the Byers, they’re talking of burning the tunnels._ **

Billy knew which tunnels the fern was referring to - the ones that had been creeping into town and infecting his darlings and _killing them._ Billy had tried to stop it at first. He’d driven out by the farms and seen the goo itself, and the trees whispered to him about what was happening beneath his feet, like they’d be killed instantly if they spoke too loud. He healed the infected areas of plants and watched how the goo just oozed back into existence, no matter how many times he tried to get it off the trees.

Now his sister was wrapped up in this whole mess because of the stupid Party (he allowed himself a moment to think of how stupid that name was), and she was probably going to die because of it. Cursing to himself, he gets in his car and immediately speds off towards the direction of the Byers residence.

His stomach is twisting into knots as he speeds down the road. Billy had _warned_ Max against hanging out with Sinclair and the others. Apart from Sinclair being an asshole to her, Billy was worried Max could’ve been wrapped up into the whole mess and die because she wasn’t careful; and now she's _hanging out_ with the whole motherfucking Party about to burn the roots from the upside down and Billy is going to have to drag her out of that house to keep her away from anything Upside Down related. 

By the time Billy’s inner monologuing of hating everything about the Party is over, he's pulling up into the driveway of the Byers house. Steve Harrington is standing on the porch, looking every bit like a protective babysitter. Billy turns off the engine and slides out of the car. “Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington?’ He calls out, smirking.

“Yeah yeah, don’t cream your pants. What do you want?” Billy's smirk grew, and he quickly began pulling off his jacket before tossing it in his car and slamming the door behind him. He has to make this quick and _get her the fuck out of here_ before Neil cuts off his head or Max gets eaten alive. Time to play the game. “A little birdy told me that my sister was here. I’m here to send her home.”

There was a brief flicker of panic across Harrington’s face, and Billy struts forward. “Yeah well, she’s not here.” 

“Why are you lying to me, Harrington? I know she’s here. Are you hiding her from me?” He was in Harrington's face now, and Billy could see the little fuckers watching from the window. Now he wants to make Harrington squirm. “Or are you hiding...something else?” 

To his credit, Harrington’s eyes only widened slightly. “No. She’s not here. Leave.” 

“Uh huh, and who’s that over there?” He points to the window, watching as all the kids scramble away. Harrington curses under his breath and looks back at Billy, who is grinning like the cat that got the cream.

Okay, this game was taking way too long. Billy shoves Harrington out of his way, causing him to trip and fall, and he kicks him in the stomach for good measure before stalking towards the door and yanking it open. All the gremlins were clumped together, staring in fear at Billy. It was kinda cute, but he notices Byers is missing. The entire house looked like a _mess,_ too. The walls of the house are covered in taped paper, a dark blue and black that stretched absolutely _everywhere_. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He turns his attention back to the trembling kids.

“It’s time to come home you little shit.” Billy growls, getting more and more pissed off by the second.

Max glares at him defiantly. “No.” 

“Max. It’s time to go. Now.” He stalks forward and they scramble backwards into the kitchen. “I thought I told you not to hang with these people Max, don’t you ever _listen?”_ He reaches forward to grab her arm, and he feels someone yank him back before slamming him into the counter by the fridge. Ow. Harrington is standing there, looking pissed off and ready to kill. Billy watches as Harrington’s fist came towards his face and Billy yanks the fridge door open to stop it without a thought.

And out fell a creature wrapped in a blanket.

It was dead, that much was certain. It had a weird flower shaped head, and resembled a dog in the weirdest way. It wasn’t a Demogorgan, but the similarities were there. Somehow he wasn’t surprised that they had a dead beast in the fridge. Billy looks up and sees the blood drain out of Harrington’s face. The rest of the Party is looking similar, and Billy mentally curses everything in the world that has led him to this moment. 

“Somebody better give me an explanation in the next few minutes about the dead creature in the _fucking fridge._ ” 

**"J** _ **ane**_ _Hopper! Jane Hopper!"_ Billy eyes flicker around the kitchen for a moment and he spots a tiny potted poppy on the windowsill. Ah. That explains it. As a rule of thumb, poppies were one of the most cheerful and clingy plants there was, and held a childlike innocence no matter their age. Billy loves them, and he feels his heart melt a little at the tiny plant. Poppies were definitely one of his favorite flowers, and he hadn’t seen any since he’d moved. He reaches over quickly without a thought about the people before him, and grabs the baby plant **_(‘Weeee!!!_ ’)** and holds it closely. The poppy chirps happily. “Okay. Now one of you shit birds needs to explain what the fuck is going on.” 

“Uhhh, why are you holding Ms. Byers plant?” Wheeler asks, exchanging glances with the others. 

“That’s not an explanation. I need one. Now.” Billy doesn't need shit, but it would be pretty amusing watching the others trip and fall over themselves to explain the demogorgon dog. The poppy was confused, probably why he was asking for an explanation when he knew everything already, and he strokes its leaves absentmindedly to soothe it. It really was like taking care of a child, just one that didn’t drool and scream and need to be watched 24/7. 

“Steve, we can’t tell him anything! We can’t trust this guy! He just beat you up!” Henderson blurts out, and Billy rolls his eyes. 

“We don’t even have a _choice_ anymore, he’s seen too much!” Sinclair yells back. 

“Okay fine, so we just tell him the basics then. He doesn’t need the details.” Wheeler proposes, glancing wearily at him. 

“Okay fine then.” Harrington says. “I’ll tell him, so if he punches someone in the face it won’t be one of you dipshits. Go sit on the damn couch, Hargrove.” Billy obliges, still carrying a confused plant, and follows him into the living room before draping himself over the couch. Harrington doesn't say anything, but he sits on a nearby chair and starts fiddling with his fingers. The rest of the Party doesn't follow, thank god.

“Start talking, Harrington. I don’t have all goddamn night.”

“Alright, alright! Calm your bitching, I’m just thinking about where to start. Give me a minute.” Billy groans dramatically, and turns his attention to the plant in his lap instead. It was really tiny, tinier than it should be. There weren't any flowers on it (it wasn’t the season for poppies to bloom yet), and it was drooping over a little. Billy watches it for a moment, before putting his entire focus into it. He takes a deep breath and watches it intensely, watching as the plant grew greener and straightened up. He smiles slightly, and glanced up to see Harrington staring off into space. Jesus H. Christ.

“Okay, just start from where that thing in the kitchen came from, I seriously don’t have all day to wait for you to prance around the story.” Harrington glares, but answers anyway.

“They're from another world. We call it The Upside Down. It’s like ours, but different, evil. Last year a gate opened up to the world and a monster, we call it a Demogorgan, started snatching people last year. Will was one of them, but he was able to come back. We thought we closed the gate, but I guess something slipped through. It’s called the Mindflayer, and it’s possessing Will. Some of us went to burn it out of him, it likes it cold.” Harrington had gotten quieter as he spoke, and is now watching Billy’s reaction. Billy raises an eyebrow. This story was missing a lot of details.

“Where's the gate now?” He asks.

“It’s under Hawkins Lab. They like screwing with things they shouldn’t.” Like Jane Hopper.

“What’s the shit on the walls?” 

“The Mindflayer made these...tunnels underground. Been killing plants and stuff.” Billy’s grip on the poppy tightens. That explains why it looked so damn familiar. “We think it’s stemming from the gate in the lab.” 

“Okay but none of that explains why shit bird’s involved with this, Harrington.” 

“It’s because I asked to be.” Max creeps into the room, watching them warily. Billy can see the rest of the Party slipping in behind her. “Dustin found a baby demodog and Lucas explained it to me. I’m going to help them burn the tunnels.”

“We aren’t going to go anywhere Max, I promised I’d keep you shit heads safe, and that’s _exactly_ what I plan to do! We’re staying on the bench.” Harrington scolds.

“Wait, why do you need to burn the tunnels?” Billy asks, frowning. “Chances are the Mindflayer will be pissed off and come after us for no good reason.”

“To distract-wait, us?” Max stares at him, gaping like a fish. Billy internally sighs. _F_ _uck it._

“I don’t know a whole lot about what you’re planning to do, but I know it’s going to be stupid and dangerous and you could die, and I’ll be in deep shit if your dead.” He replies.

“So…. you’re coming with us to go to tunnels made by an interdimensional beast and set it on fire despite the fact that you only learned about all of this ten minutes ago?” Billy’s grin was full of teeth.

“Damn right, I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment your thoughts, I'd love to read them ^-^


	3. Into The Tunnels We Go

As Billy speeds down the road in his precious camaro, he curses everything that brought him to this moment.

In his back seat is 3 out of the 4 of the most annoying nerds in Hawkins, and his bitch of a step sister squeezed in next to them. It really was a tight squeeze, and Sinclair had even suggested that Max sit on his lap (was he joking? Probably), but one look from Billy and that suggestion was immediately shot down. Next to him in the passenger seat was King Steve Harrington himself, babysitter of The Nerds and fighter of the Upside Down. It was weird having both those things in the same sentence. 

And in Billy’s lap was Ms. Byers’s poppy from the kitchen. He had briefly considered leaving it at the Byers house, but the plant was so content and happy to be around Billy that he brought the little plant with him. This had earned him _extremely_ strange looks from everyone, but considering they were on their way to burn the roots of a human-possessing monster from another dimension to close the gate of said dimension, carrying a plant around shouldn’t seem all that weird. And Billy has a soft spot for poppies. So the plant came.

It was better company then the rest of the idiots by a long shot anyway. So even if carrying around a soft little flower ruined Billy’s bad boy image a little, he was okay with that.

The car wasn’t silent. The nerds were having a nerd talk in the back, Harrington was muttering about how much of a bad idea this was, and Billy doesn't say anything to them. He speaks to the poppy instead. 

Listening to plants speak was easy - basically second nature, and Billy could talk to them just fine out loud with minimal communication issues. English was clear and enunciated, but projecting unspoken thoughts to plants was another story.

It required a lot of focus, and he got a nosebleed if he did it for longer than a few minutes. It did however, have the bonus of explaining what he meant much easier than words could. His flora telepathy extended beyond words and on to abstract thoughts, concepts, memories, and feelings. He enjoys sharing them with his plants, and they were always happy to have someone to talk to it worked out well. Even if every type of plant spoke differently, which Billy found cool as fuck.

The poppy was still chirping. _**'Billy Billy safe Party together safe protect happy happy happy together together!'**_

Flowers and most ornamental plants had a very strange way of communicating. It was tidbits of information at a time and not in a very strict order, and mostly relied on their tone and body language to get their point across. The poppy was currently all but dancing with glee though, and Billy coos (very quietly) and projects his feelings back in return. _‘Together mine you yes safe protect Poppy Poppy love me love poppy safe.’_

The poppy gave a cheerful trill in response and he strokes it’s leaves, feeling them begin to wrap around his finger ever so slightly. It comforts him, and he wonders if the plant was picking up on his nervousness as they drove closer to the pumpkin fields.

 ** _'N_ _ervous worried scared why not happy safe?_ _’_ **Billy furrowed his brows. _‘Worried cautious danger plants trees disease Mindflayer Max Neil Party scared death hurt plants no safe scared-’_

“Turn left here!” Billy jolts and quickly turns left, narrowly avoiding a mailbox. 

“Thanks for the heads up you little shit,” Billy growls. “Be a better navigator or give me the damn map and I’ll do it myself.” The party goes quiet, and he projects all his frustration and annoyance to the poppy in one word - _idiots._

They pull up into a pumpkin patch farm near a giant hole in the ground, and Billy turns the car off and gets out with the poppy still in hand. “Get the fuck out of my car.” The kids scramble out the door, and Billy rolls his eyes. He turns his attention to the plants around him. 

There wasn’t a single voice to be heard in the field - nothing but decay and sickness and something that could only be described as evil presence around him. Billy feels a shiver run down his back, and he quickly walks towards the trunk to grab supplies to burn this shit show to the ground. He makes a quick stop to put the poppy in the front seat though, with a quick projected reassurance that he’d be back. The poppy whines sadly and Billy’s heart hurt at the sound, but he quickly continues to the trunk to gather his supplies anyway.

The Party was already getting ready, putting on equipment they had swiped from the Byers’s shed and slipping it on. He notices they were putting on goggles and bandannas to cover their faces, and Billy vaguely remembers the Party mentioning the Upside Down being hazardous. Lovely. A bandanna and goggles probably wasn’t going to do much against a toxic environment. Billy raises an eyebrow at them, but takes a set for himself anyway. It's really hideous - a bright hot pink bandanna and neon blue swimming goggles. He put them both on and grumbles quietly before approaching the hole where the kids were gathering.

Billy edges around the dirt pile and peers down at the entrance. The dirt around the hole was gone, but a mass of thick roots separates it from the ground above. He briefly wonders if he could move them, but declares it to be too risky. Only one person had known about his powers outside the Lab, and she was dead.

Harrington yanks a shovel out of the nearby dirt pile, and begins prodding the entrance. Billy and the others wince at the squishing sound. “I think I could bust this open, the roots aren’t incredibly strong.” Harrington mutters, before slamming down the shovel through the roots repeatedly, effectively breaking open the entrance. 

“Ewwwwwww!” The children yelled, surprisingly, in sync. Billy flinches, looking at the weird puss oozing from the broken roots. It looked similar to the goo that had been covering the trees. Billy very much did not like the idea of going down on what was likely a suicide mission, but he has his Darlings relying on him and he has to make sure Max doesn't fucking kill herself or _he_ would be dead.

“Hey Hargrove, toss me that rope will ya?” The rope, which had been tied to the front of his camaro by Wheeler, was supposed to serve as a way to get in and out of the hole. Billy doubts its durability, but grabs it regardless and tosses it to Harrington. 

“Wish me luck, dipshits.” He watches as Harrington slowly slides down into the hole in the ground with nothing but a rope connecting him to the surface. Henderson leans over the entrance.

“Still alive?” He called out. Billy rolls his eyes so hard, he wonders how they didn't get stuck there.

“Not dead yet.” Harrington's voiced responds.

With a quick exchange in glances, the rest of the Party quickly follow Harrington's lead while being mindful about the bags on their backs. When Max and Billy are the only ones left, he quickly grabs her arm. Max startles, and starts to struggle. 

“Listen you shit head, if anything moves down there you fucking tell me. It’s on me if you’re dead.” He hisses at her, before letting her go like she burned him. Max snorts. 

“Yeah, like you fucking care.” She drops down before Billy can respond. Not that he would, anyway.

On the contrary, Billy cares more than he wants to. He remembers when he first met her, seemingly ages ago. Billy had been so nervous and excited to meet her that he was practically vibrating on the living room couch, eagerly waiting for Neil to come home for the first time ever. When the front door opened, Billy had bolted up and watched as Neil walked in with a young girl, his hand on her shoulder.

“This is Maxine, she’s going to be your sister. You’re going to look after her.” Neil had said.

The girl with the flaming hair and piercing blue eyes glared at Neil before looking back at Billy and said “Call me Max.” Billy had smiled, and told her Max was a cool name. 

The next day, Billy had given Max a tiny succulent. It was a very pretty shade of blue and Billy had grown it himself, and was rather proud of it. Max didn’t know the significance of what he’d done, and he was thankful for it. To Billy, giving a plant to someone was like giving away a piece of himself. A very private and intimate part of himself that he had only shared with Mom. Plants were his way of truly connecting with the world, and this tiny succulent would be his eyes and ears to make sure Max was safe because he knew what people were capable of, and he would be damned if he let someone hurt her.

Billy jolted out of his quick nostalgia trip and slid into the hole to follow the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments keep me alive you guys. I thrive off them.  
> Also ideas are so so so so welcome!!! Thanks for reading this chapter :D


	4. The Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is basically a filler to get on with the GOOD parts of the story. Also Billy may be a tad bit ooc but like... so would anybody in this situation and Season 3 says he's got feelings sooo

The first thing Billy thinks when he goes through the entrance of the tunnel is that it's _cold._ It's a chill that burrows through his clothes and to his core, like none of the clothing he's wearing are even there. He mentally pats himself on the back for remembering to put back on his leather jacket before they left for the pumpkin patch anyway, otherwise he’d be extra fucked. The second thing he notices is the loud, harsh whispers of the walls around him. 

_**'Intruders** **… I see you...'**_ Billy feels the blood drain from his face, and the words chill him more then the cold. They need to fucking hurry, now.

The rest of the Party is already walking forward, flashlights in hand. It was pretty dark, and Billy makes a mental note to avoid the jagged roots when they would inevitably be running away like hell was on their heels later. 

“-If any of you dipshits die down here, _I’m_ getting the blame. Except you, Hargrove, you’re on your own.” Harrington snaps as he snatches a poorly drawn map away from Wheeler. Billy rolls his eyes, but follows the group as they make their way. 

The walls of the tunnels are freaking Billy out. A heavy mass of roots lined the inside, and Billy caught some of the roots moving once or twice before going still once they’d been spotted. Along the tops of the walls, Billy spots what looks like a bulbous flower head, and he’ll bet anything that they release spores that would do nothing good for their health. The bandanna and goggles kept most of the stray particulates away from his face, and he makes another mental note not to underestimate the Party’s smarts by _that much_ more. 

Of course, just as he thinks that Henderson peered a little too closely at one of these flowers, and it swelled and shot spores directly into his face. He screams, completely freaking out and falling to the ground while coughing violently. The rest of the group is swarming him immediately, demanding to see if he was okay. Billy hangs around the edge of the group, intensely watching the flower in case it tries to attack again. It seems smug, but doesn't do anything else to suggest it would hurt them anymore. Henderson's panting is slowing down, and Billy can see him blinking up at them.

“I’m good.” He reassures them, still sounding out of breath. The rest of the group grumble and groan before walking away, but Billy looks at Henderson’s face a bit closer. He had been screaming about it getting in his mouth, and it almost looks like his mouth is puffier than usual. 

“Henderson.” Billy barks. Henderson jumps slightly, looking up at him. “Let me know if you start struggling to breathe, that might’ve been really toxic you fucking moron. Let’s go.” Billy growls, yanking Henderson up by the arm. Henderson looks at him quizzically, but follows the rest of the group without a word.

Man, Billy’s really knocking down his Bad Boy Points today.

It feels like they were wandering for a while. Realistically, Billy knows that Harrington has the map, but it doesn’t feel that way. Nothing about the tunnels really changes as they make twists and turns to find the core (or whatever it is, Billy doesn’t know what to call it), and it makes him feel like a lab rat in a maze. There’s only one exit and entrance though, and if Harrington’s navigational skills are decent enough, that’s way far away from where they are.

Billy wants to kick the wall in frustration.

He does however, notice the _exact_ moment when he realizes they’re getting close to where their supposed to go.

In general, Billy has a given sense of where plants are in any given area. Billy would almost call it a 6th sense. Or 7th (ha). While not incredibly useful, it does give Billy a sense of comfort that on some level, there is at least a presence he wouldn’t want to punch in the face among meeting. Sometimes it gives him a mental map - if this area has so many plants here, then there is a reason for it that can provide awareness to his surroundings like a large expanse of soil or beach sand. Focus closer on what he senses is there, and Billy can tell the difference between typical lawn grass from a huge ass pine tree. It’s worth noting that the more clustered plants are, the stronger he can sense them. It’s part of the reason that Billy loves being in the woods so much.

It also works with very very _large_ plants. Billy’s not saying that these tunnels are a plant (very similar and yet also very not, and he doesn’t appreciate it), but the sense that it’s surrounding him in more ways than just physical is there. So Billy notices the instance where the presence immediately starts to intensify exponentially.

When they come across the large chamber at then end of a tunnel, Billy sees what’s been giving off the intense vibes. 

The others are already breaking off, either looking at the walls with their flashlights or beginning to spray it down in gasoline, but Billy is _much_ more interested in what looks like a bad video game portal in the center of the chamber. It almost reminds Billy of the flower they encountered back when Henderson was being an idiot, but Billy thinks one defense mechanism from this one would kill them all slowly and painfully for sure. It makes him feel uneasy. Yet, Billy is drawn towards it anyway. He’s never seen anything like this. Chances are, he probably never will after today either. 

Billy slowly makes his way towards it. The air of unease grows, and up close he can really see it. It’s a dark ugly color, and there are roots stemming from the base. It’s not moving, but it seems to be...breathing. Billy crouches low, looking even closer. Then Billy does something impulsively stupid. Really, really stupid. 

He reaches his hand out and _touches_ it.

The first thing Billy feels is anger. No, anger doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s as if lava has swept through his body, fiery and burning and leaving him to burn alive. It’s ferocious, hatred in its purest form. It shocks Billy, but he can’t move because while there’s this burning rage, there is this freezing, frigid sensation crawling through his body, and it’s such a feeling that Billy doesn’t know what to call it. His closest English word would be rancorous, malicious, vindictive. But they don’t explain it well enough, and Billy can do nothing but _feel._

Billy experiences all of this in a moment, but the next part is worse.

It’s a vision, but it is by no means his. Billy can see a cold and dark world, a heavy veil of death and decay over _everything._ It’s Hawkins Middle, Billy realizes. He’s looking down on everything, and Billy can see bodies (bodies in _pieces)_ on the field below him. There’s howls somewhere, sounding victorious. Demodogs, and a lot of them.

He recognizes who the corpses are, he just doesn’t want to think about it. They’re almost not recognizable from this height and the level of decay, and not to mention being _ripped into pieces_ , but he feels something that can only be described as _smug_ when seeing them lying there, unmoving and deader than dead at his hands. There’s only a few people’s death that could make the Mindflayer feel this way.

Even though he knows better and his instincts scream at him not to, he looks at the trees below him. They too, are dead with no green and are rotting away. Nothing looks alive in this world, and Billy wants to cry. It’s a world with nothing but darkness, anger, and monsters. 

This isn’t his would. This is what the Mindflayer wants to happen. This is its fantasy, and it is willing to do anything to happen. It’s going to start with them, and then move on to the rest of the world.

He feels somebody yanking on his shoulder, and it brings him back to his world, his very currently alive world where all his Darlings aren’t rotting and the Party’s bodies aren’t decaying in shreds of meat. It feels like something is crushing his skull while simultaneously setting it ablaze. His ears hurt too, because somebody is screaming very loudly and he wants them to shut up-

Oh. It’s him. He’s the one screaming. 

There are hands still shaking him and he can’t see who it is, not right now, but he hits whoever it is away because if they touch him any longer then he’s going to _watch them_ be ripped to shreds and Billy doesn’t want that to happen in any way, shape, or form.

They don’t stop though. The hands keep shaking him, and Billy is _terrified._

“STOP TOUCHING ME!” Billy screams, trying to get away. He can see Harrington in front of him, looking freaked out. Ah. He’s the one shaking him then. That means he’s not dead, he’s living and breathing and very much alive. 

Well, maybe not much longer. But Harrington doesn’t know. He needs to know.

Billy grabs at his arm, and he can feel tears running down his face as he looks at him. “BURN IT!” He shouts. “YOU HAVE TO BURN IT _NOW!_ ”

Harrington doesn’t say anything, but he nods and pulls Billy up. Billy is trying to scramble away, but Harrington holds him tightly to his side and heaves him away from the center of the chamber and towards the entrance they came in. He hears a click behind him as a lighter is lit, and as Harrington half carries him the Party scurry in front of them, making their way out as fast as they can.

Billy can feel the heat of flames behind him, and the screeching of the Mindflayer as they rush away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry the poppy wasn't there. Poppy will be much more involved in the next chapter.  
> ALLLLLSOOOOOO  
> I have a pinterest board for things I mention in the story, like the Poppy. Cause like poppy....has not bloomed and looks like a weed. I want to make sure you guys know that lol  
> I have a board for things I'm planning to include which aren't in the fic, and one where these things are already mentioned are pre-story. (like Billy's tattoo, it will be mentioned later tho)
> 
> WITHOUT SPOILERS, WILL UPDATE AS STORY UPDATES  
> https://www.pinterest.com/althecat5728/ff-ideas-and-refrences/the-trees-have-eyes/ 
> 
> this will like totally spoil some of the fun but the other one HAS SPOILERS AND DOES NOT FOLLOW WITH STORY UPDATES  
> https://www.pinterest.com/althecat5728/ff-ideas-and-refrences/the-trees-have-eyes-includes-spoilers/ 
> 
> Please comment, they make me feel like the story actually means something to someone other than me. ily


	5. The Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> longest chapter yet yayyyy

Billy is only half aware that they are being chased by demodogs. 

On one hand, he can see the Party hauling ass in the general direction towards they entrance they came from, looking like hell hounds are chasing at their heels. Only they actually are, they just go by demodogs.

On the other hand, Billy is trying to unwrap his head around what just happened. He doesn’t want to think about it. He doesn’t want to see it. He never wants anything to do with what he just experienced ever again. It isn’t really the time to be doing this, and will most likely get him killed, but he’s not going to think about that either.

It isn’t until Harrington stops dead and he’s forced to halt that Billy notices there’s a demodog in _front_ of them. It’s really skinny, like it’s been starving, and it has a large yellow splotch on its back end.

Henderson speaks up first, and Billy doesn’t really know what he’s saying. Something about darts, a cat, some apologies? Why is he apologizing? That thing is going to _eat_ them. 

It’s going to happen right now. That demodog is going to rip Henderson to pieces, and they are all doing nothing to stop it. It’s a paralyzing thought - Billy can’t move anymore. They’re all going to die down here, starting with Henderson.

Billy is close to hyperventilating at this point, and he feels someone grab his arm and pull him away from Henderson and the demodog as Henderson distracts it. They’re leaving Henderson for dead? He thought Henderson was part of the Party? What is _happening?_

When he spots the demodog eating 3 Musketeer Bars on the ground, he thinks he might be hallucinating. Henderson slowly slips away and begins to follow the group once more, and Billy can do nothing more than stumble forward one step at a time.

They’re close to the entrance now. Billy can see moonlight and a rope hanging down from the ceiling, and it seems like all hope isn’t lost. The children are running like hell, and Harrington leaves his side to run ahead and make sure they climb the rope safely. Harrington makes his way up first, and uses this to his advantage in helping the kids out. Sinclair is starting to climb up and, of course, that’s when Billy hears demodogs gaining on them. 

The kids are still scrambling up the rope. All of them have limp noodles for arms though, so it’s not exactly fast. Billy helps anyway, desperately pushing through his disorientation and lifting the kids out because they need to fucking _leave._ When Max and him are left, Billy can see the demodogs running towards them. His stomach drops. He can hear everybody above screaming for them. (Actually, they’re only screaming for Max. He tries not to let that sting.)

The demodogs are going to kill them. He and Max are still down here, and it’s going to be a fucking brutal death. Billy has nothing to stop them with, no bat spiked with nails or shitty slingshot. 

This isn’t how he planned on dying. When Billy had escaped the lab, he had expected to be shot dead in the months that followed. He knew they were trying to find him, even if the chance of anyone surviving in the building was slim to none. Billy wasn’t even in that category, because he was the one that _made it happen._ When he had been with Mom, he’d thought he’d gotten away from everything. Then Neil had entered the picture, and he felt death breathing down his neck again, like he was going to be hit so hard that he would pass out and never wake up again. It’s happened before, but Billy always wakes back up.

But that is neither here nor there. Right now, a pack of demodogs are running towards Billy and his step sister full speed ahead. It’s an unconscious thought to pull Max to his chest in a tight hug and turn his back to the pack. Maybe if they’re lucky the demodogs will rip into Billy first and then _maybe_ Max will be safe long enough to get her ass into gear and climb the rope while the pack is distracted. 

Or maybe Billy doesn’t want to die without hugging his bitch of a sister goodbye. It’ll all mean the same thing in the end, and Max probably won’t even realize what he’s doing anyway because they have a seriously fucked up sibling dynamic.

He’s waiting to feel pain. He’s waiting for the demodogs to bury their many rows of teeth in his back. He’s waiting to die.

...Except, that doesn’t happen. The demodogs are rushing past them, acting like Billy and Max are invisible. Billy is waiting for them to turn around and attack them, but they don’t. It’s over in less than a minute and Billy doesn’t let go of Max for a few moments longer. When he pulls back, he looks at her face. Max is pale as is, but she looks like she’s never seen the sun in her life right now. Her blue eyes are wide and she’s breathing shakily. She’s freaked out. Billy probably doesn’t look much better. He definitely doesn’t feel any better.

“Should head up in case they come back.” He whispers to her. She nods, not saying anything. He watches her reach out and grab the rope and begin to climb out. When her feet disappear, Billy exhales and grabs the rope to follow her.

Billy nearly cries in relief when he sees the poppy. He has had a goddamn _rough_ past half an hour, but it’s over now _(not really over)_ and Billy is so goddamn happy to see the tiny potted plant. He definitely loses Bad Boy Points again when he darts to the door to grab it and hold it close. The poppy knows somethings wrong immediately. Flowers are very sensitive, and he’s not hiding his distress very well. Nonetheless the poppy is downright ecstatic to see him again and chitters away.

 _ **'Safe safe safe happy happy Billy here love together Billy happy happy safe together Billy safe safe love love love!'**_ Billy doesn’t say anything. He just holds the poppy closer, tries to stop shaking, and projects back. He can trust the plants with his feelings, so he doesn’t hide how he’s feeling. Humans are not as trustworthy.

_“Terror terror terror death bad bad bad Mindflayer so sorry demodogs Max terror not safe dead dead dead not real very real not safe so sorry terror tERROR TERRO-”_

“Uh, Hargrove? You alright there?” Billy looks up and sees Harrington standing by the passenger side, watching him cautiously. “You want me to drive?” Billy glances and sees the Party in his backseat, chattering to themselves. Which means Billy has been standing there long enough for them to load all the equipment, unhook his car from the rope, and get into said car. Billy remembers the junk on his face and hurriedly yanks it off.

“Fuck off, Harrington.” He spits, yanking open the driver side door and getting in. He tosses the face shit in the backseat, ignoring the screeches in protest. He settles the poppy in his lap, and grips the steering wheel as he exhales slowly. He starts the car, and begins to drive away without a second thought.

They’ve been driving for a while in silence when Wheeler speaks.

“So… what happened when you touched the thingy, back in the tunnels?” He says it slowly, as if watching Billy’s reaction. Billy feels himself shudder involuntarily, and grips the steering wheel tighter. His knuckles are white.

Really, what can you say to that? ‘I saw you all in the Mindflayers vision ripped to shreds and lying in a world that reeks of death and all my Darlings were rotting to death and I was scared shitless it was suddenly real’? Yeah, no. That wouldn’t go over well at all.

“Nothing.” He grits out. Yeah Billy, that’ll fix everything. Perfect. No questions at all.

“Hey, it could be really important dipshit! You need to tell us!” Wheeler yells back. 

It’s not that he shouldn’t tell them. He probably should, because they’re all involved in one way or another and it’d be nice to know what the Mindflayer currently wants so they can plan ahead. The Mindflayer probably isn’t dead, because the Upside Down is a fucked up place that doesn’t ever work how you want it to.

Then again, he’s not the only one that has been in the head of something of the Upside Down. Jane Hopper was the one to open it in the first place, and Byers was possessed by the damn thing. Not to mention, this information coming from them will be taken much easier then if Billy tells them.

Billy says nothing. He ignores the very angry whispers to one another in the backseat, ignores Harrington’s weird look, and focuses on the road. 

As soon as he parks the car at the Byers and turns it off, Billy immediately gets out, poppy in hand. The tension in the car was rubbing off on him and he’s fidgety with nerves. He needs to be around sentient beings that aren’t humans. He power walks to the forest line, not acknowledging the shouts behind him. They can get fucked.

The shrubbery comes to life when he approaches them. Even though it’s dark as fuck out, Billy can see a shit ton of ferns, a variety of hickory trees, and other common green. He can spot vines too. He walks to a bitternut hickory that isn’t too crowded or far away from the house and gently sits down near it, settling the poppy in his lap. The plants are all giving gentle greetings and touches, sensing that he’s overwhelmed. He appreciates it.

Some plants reach out to him almost immediately, the vines in particular. Their physically clingy, and they like to pretend they aren’t. He watches as a particular greenbriar vine wraps carefully around his wrist like a living bracelet. The poppy is displeased by this, and twitters grouchily. Billy laughs, if a bit shakily, at the interaction. 

_' **N** **o! No! Mine mine mine love Billy together yes love mine! Away away, mine only!'**_ Did he mention that poppies were as possessive as the were clingy?

 _' **N** **o no, not yours! Ours! Warm and safe together! He loves all, together with us and happy! Share him!'**_ the vine whines in response. The poppy begins to get aggravated, and Billy hums gently, stroking the poppy’s leaves in an attempt to help the potted plant calm down. 

“I’m every plants human, you greedy precious thing.” He whispers. The ferns laugh around him, and the trees say nothing but he can tell they’re amused too. The vine just looks smug. Billy has never seen any other plant pull off a pout as well as this particular poppy.

He’s torn out of his thoughts by the sound of a car pulling up. A quick glance up and he can see the chiefs car pulling in. Billy feels nervous, all the sudden. The doors open and slam, and Billy watches the chief of police and his adopted daughter exit the car. 

He must have made some kind of movement or sound, because it catches Jane Hopper’s eye. She looks over, and scans the treeline before her eyes find him. Her eyes say many things. They say that she is tormented, that she is naive, that she is very, very tired, and she has done and seen things that others can only dream of. 

Billy has that look, but he hides it well. 

They make eye contact, even in the darkness, and Jane Hopper smiles at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> afdkjsdfh JANE IS FINALLY IN THE STORY, BITCHES  
> I do not regret giving Billy his Big Brother MomentsTM.  
> sorry not sorry for the hints to Billy's past, it'll all be explained at one point hehe, and I had more plant interaction scenes. there will be more of those in the future too, for sure.  
> I'm so excited you guys. so excited.  
> also do you guys know any good Billy character studies?? I worry I stray a bit tooooo far from his character.


	6. Jane "El' Hopper

Billy has been wanting to meet Jane Hopper since the beginning. The plants had spoken very highly of her. They told him of when she had stolen boxes of Eggos and eaten it all in the privacy of the forest, and some plants were mildly concerned about her eating habits while others were very amused. They had told him of her many days in the forest, where she was always cold and just trying to make it to the next day. They told him of when Chief Hopper had set out food (with Eggos of course) and that had led her to him. They told him of the secret cabin in the woods, with the secret knock. 

In a way, seeing her felt unreal, like Jane Hopper was a character in a (admittedly) very horrible folk story, and now she was very much breathing and existing in front of him, less than 20 feet away.

Billy watches her turn and say something to Hopper quietly, before making her way towards him. Hopper seems skeptical, _extremely_ skeptical, but he goes inside. Billy assumes the rest of the Party is already in there too, Billy's strange behavior ignored.

Jane Hopper quietly sits down next to him, avoiding any of the plants. She looks at the potted poppy curiously. “Plant?” She asks quietly.

Billy gives her a small smile. “This plant is called a poppy,” He answers. “Specifically a California Poppy, even if it’s not blooming yet. Poppies are very clingy, so I’ve been carrying it with me.” 

“Blooming?” She tilts her head to the side, looking confused. Billy’s smile grows. 

“If I show you what I mean, will you promise to keep it a secret?” Jane nods, looking incredibly serious. “Friends don’t break a promise.” 

As a rule, Billy kept his powers under wrap 98% of the time around other people. Abilities like projecting could be done in plain sight, for the most part, but everything else? Giant red flag. Like, “he’s not entirely human and somebody should call the police!” flag. A flag that would get Billy sent back to a lab if caught. Billy can’t afford that, he’s come too far. 

But that being said, Jane might never have interacted with anybody with similar experiences. He knows _exactly_ what it’s like to be in fear of every given moment because _somebody_ might have said something, and the scientists might be hot on his trail. He knows. He also knows what it’s like to be thrown into a world with next to no knowledge of what things are like, to learn new things, grasp vocabulary and concepts, and learn the basics that everybody else was raised with. He had Mom, and Jane has Hopper. 

Billy understands. He knows she will keep his secret, too.

Billy takes a deep breath, and looks down at his lap. The vine is still wrapped around his hand, and the poppy still happily content between his legs. 

“May I?” He asks the poppy. The poppy, ever to please, chirps a yes. He lifts the pot in the hand not covered in a clingy vine and offers it to Jane. She takes it, looking confused, Billy flashes a quick grin before staring at the poppy. 

It’s an odd feeling, changing a plants natural state. Willing something to happen and then actually watching it happen leaves a buzz under his skin, one that makes him want to use it more and more until everything is _better._

He continues looking at the potted poppy without flowers, and wills it to _bloom._

It happens immediately. The tiny dormant buds of the plant begin to open, developing small, sunset orange petals that shape a beautiful flower. They remind Billy of the sunsets in Cali.

Jane’s eyes widen in awe, and she gently touches the flowers. The poppy seems happy, chirping in pride at it’s beautiful flowers and the attention it’s receiving. She looks up at Billy. “How?” She asks, looking so very, very confused. 

There’s a lot he can say to that. He can tell her of the hours he’d spent in a white room, trying to make something happen. He can tell her about the yelling and scolding when something _doesn’t_ happen, and the hours after where Billy tries harder because he wanted to prove himself. He could tell her when he figured out how to manipulate the plants, and how the scientists had been so very happy that he managed to do something. He can tell her about how he spent hours in Mom’s garden, willing them to grow because he loved the huge smile on her face when her garden was blooming and beautiful. He could tell her how it had been so much easier doing it for Mom than it had ever been for the scientist. 

Billy doesn’t say that though. He doesn’t say anything of the sort, but he pushes the sleeve of his right hand up, undoes a thick black bracelet, eases the vine off his arm, and presents it to her. Even though it's incredibly dark out, he can see her eyes get even larger, and Billy thinks she looks like she’s about to cry.

On his wrist, in a tiny clinical font, is 07. She looks shocked, and slowly raises her arm to show a small 11. Billy feels heartbroken at the tattoo.

He’s not exactly surprised when she lunges to hug him, being mindful of the poppy in her hand. He feels like she needs this as much as he does, and he doesn’t hesitate to hug her back. She’s small, so it’s easy to hold her close. She’s crying into his shoulder, and he _understands._

They don’t say anything for a while. The forest hums happily around him, and Billy feels himself relax, bit by bit. A fern starts nudging his shoulder, and Billy smiles. They are happy for him. Jane eventually stops crying, and it’s only when she pulls away that he realizes he was crying too. Jane holds the plant between them, orange flowers practically glowing in the darkness. The poppy, upon realizing that their sappy moment is at least somewhat over, now starts chirping away merrily.

 ** _'Billy Jane happy happy together safe not sad Billy happy together Billy Jane love safe safe safe together happy happy happy! BillyJane BillyJane!'_** Billy raises an eyebrow at the last statement. It’s not exactly _normal_ for the plants to do that. In human terms, saying their names together like that is incredibly significant, to say the least. Mom’s garden plants had done the same with him and her, many years ago. Billy had loved Mom with his whole heart, and vice versa. When she had promised to keep him safe and protected, the plants had started referring to them as **_BethBilly._**

It’s an interesting thought. Personally, Billy doesn’t actually know Jane. He only knows what he’s been told by the forest, and he’s willing to bet Jane doesn’t know anything about him except that he came from a lab, like her. 

That’s a pretty significant thing, though. Binding, in a horrible horrible way. Billy doesn’t want anything like that to happen to her ever again, because while Billy was only in the lab for about 7 years, Jane was there for much, much longer. He will die before he lets anybody go through that again, especially this Eggo-Loving, curly haired child. The plants have undoubtedly picked up on this, too. Sensitive bastards.

“What’s your name?” Jane asks, peering up at Billy. 

“Billy Hargrove, and yours?” he already knows it, but he has manners goddamn it.

“Jane Hopper, but my friends call me El.” Billy frowns heavily. 

“Short for Eleven?” She nods.

Billy hates it. He hates it so fucking much. It’s the equivalent of him being called Sev, and can’t understand why she would like to be reminded of the tattoo on her arm, put there by a sadist who think experimenting on kids is _okay._ He doesn’t say this though, because she probably has a reason for sticking with the name.

“Can I call you my brother?” Billy’s blinks. Once, twice. More times. 

“Only if I can call you my sister.” He grins. 

Her smile nearly blinds him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just you wait, I got so many damn ideas for Billy and Jane together and I'm gonna throw them at you like a flame thrower
> 
> also I added a teensy bit of plant culture because... I wanted to and it sounded cute at the time.  
> also Billy's mothers name is never mentioned but the actress's first name is Beth and I like the matching B names


	7. Memory Lane and Interrogations

Billy stands up carefully, offering his hand to Jane to help her up. She takes it, pulling herself up with the poppy in hand. Billy quickly puts his bracelet back on, pulling down his sleeve. Jane looks a little sad at that.

Billy takes the plant from her carefully, and gently makes the poppy flowers fall off into his hand. Jane looks disappointed, and Billy is too. However, it’s common sense that a plant that blooms in summer should definitely not be blooming now, and at night late in the year. The poppy pouts, but understands that it was for the best. Billy puts the flowers in his jacket pocket for later and once again holds the potted poppy to his chest. 

Jane grabs his hand tightly, and they start making their way to the Byers porch. Billy’s surprised she trusts him so much so soon, but he’s grateful and doesn’t protest as she leads the way. He can hear talking inside, and his stomach twists involuntarily.

“They don’t like me much.” He admits. Jane frowns. “Why?” 

“I’m kind of a di- jerk.” Billy replies. He should probably refrain from cursing as much.

“You don’t seem like a mouth breather.” 

“The hell is a mouth breather?” So much for that plan. Good job Billy.

“A person who pushes others around.” He winces.

“That’s their impression of me, pretty sure. Not a people person.” 

“Me too.” It’s whispered like a confession, and he’s not entirely sure he was meant to hear it.

Jane still hasn’t let go of his hand, and Billy struggles to stifle his nervousness. It will not go over well, he’s sure. They’re on the porch before he knows it, and Billy takes a deep breath before opening the door. 

Hopper is pacing in the living room, and the rest of the Party is sitting on the couch, all looking anxious. Wheeler immediately jumps up, looking ready to run to Jane before giving them what can only be described as a disgusted bitch face. 

“Why the hell are you holding his _hand?_ He’s a bully and an asshole!” Wheeler yells, looking frantically between them. Jane doesn’t cower though, and meets his gaze steadily. 

“I trust him.” She states, glaring at Wheeler. Wheeler gaps at them, as does everybody else but Hopper. Hopper gives him an odd look, looking him up and down. Billy resists giving them a _very_ smug look. Jane ignores them, and pulls him into the kitchen. 

The dead demodog is no longer on the floor, thank fuck. Probably Hopper's doing. The counters are still covered in food from the fridge though, so it's obviously not clean.

The thought of seeing a demodog makes tonight’s previous encounters come to mind. The Mindflayers vision, in particular. Out of all of them, the Mindflayer wanted Jane dead most. Billy feels nauseous and quickly aborts that train of thought, instead turning his attention to Jane. 

Jane, now that he can see her in the light, looks like a strong wind could knock her over and is covered in filth. She’s also wearing a heavy dark jacket, much too big for her, and faded eye make up. Her hair is gelled back too, though some of her curls are starting to make a comeback. This look doesn’t exactly shout _Jane_ though, it shouts punk.

“Whose clothes are those?” He asks. Jane gives him a small sad smile. “Sister.”

Billy has a fuck ton of questions, but he figures those can wait for later. She didn’t look like she really wanted to talk about it. “Do you have your own clothes? You look like you could use a shower and some sleep, kid.” Jane gives him a pondering look. 

“In the car, I think.” Billy nods, and gently sets the poppy on the kitchen table. “I’ll go grab them. Ms. Byers won’t mind if you use her shower, I’m sure.” Jane tightens her grip on his hand briefly before letting go, walking towards where Billy assumes is the bathroom. Billy takes a deep breath, before walking towards the living room. He’d barely stepped in the door frame before Wheeler was in his face,

“What did you say to her?” Wheeler looks angry, and Billy sees that he’s worried for Jane. Billy allows himself a moment to fantasize pushing the kid over anyway, because he’s fucking annoying.

“Nothing.” Billy says. It’s not _technically_ a lie, because he didn’t actually _tell_ Jane anything for her to form her major opinion, but this kid doesn’t deserve jack and shit from him. Harrington stands up then, walking over to stand behind Wheeler. Are they really _teaming up_ on him? 

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Hargrove. First the incident in the tunnels, and now outside with El.” Billy grits his teeth, pushing down the nausea at the thought of the tunnels. He should probably tell them later, but they can fuck right off about Jane. 

“Get out of my way, or I’ll _make_ you move.” He growls, leaning forward as if to challenge Harrington.

“Hey hey, we don’t need anymore fighting tonight.” Jim Hopper says, not so gently pushing Billy and the other two away from each other. “He doesn’t have to say anything right now, it’s been a long night for everyone.” Billy scoffs, shoving himself past Harrington and making his way outside to Hoppers car, ignoring the seething looks from Wheeler. 

Outside, Billy makes his way to Hoppers backseat, peaking in the windows before spotting a bundle of clothes and grabbing it quickly. He doesn’t head inside just yet, instead taking a moment to relax, listening to the forest around him. The forest is a hum of noises, the rustling of animals among branches, the whistling of the wind, the quiet murmurs of plants interacting with one another. He’s happy the plants have each other, and he’s happy that he knows he can rely on the plants too.

In Cali, he hadn’t had anyone for a longtime. He didn’t know what the feeling was called of course, the loneliness, but he felt it. A feeling of disconnect from everything around him, the way everything blurred together and made his chest ache for something. Billy, no, _Seven_ , didn’t know anything back then. He didn’t have a true name, but he had the markings on his arm that he knew meant him. Seven was nothing more than a child experiment, isolated in every sense of the word. It was numbing, and he didn’t really notice how bad it was until they set down an aloe plant down in front of him. He was young, maybe 4 at most.

The scientists hadn’t told him to do anything, they merely set the plant on the table in front of him and left. Of course, Seven didn’t know they were scientists. He didn’t know them as anything other than _one of many_ that he witnessed, covered in a blank color and radiating a sense of disappointment and irritation. It made Seven uneasy. 

The aloe plant was scared. Again, Seven had no words for this but he recognized it anyway. He often felt it himself, whenever the _one of many_ came along and dragged him from place to place. He also didn’t know what a plant _was,_ but he knew it was alive, just like him. 

He had reached out to touch the edge of the long leaves on the plant, and jolted when it pricked him. He frowned, and this time touched along the inner parts of the leaves curiously. He didn’t get pricked this time, and he continued to stroke it. The longer he continued, the more relaxed the plant became. The longer he continued, the larger the plant became. The longer it continued, the more tired Seven became. The longer he continued, the more that numbing feeling began to draw away and the ache in his chest loosened.

He didn’t know of the whispering behind the mirror in front of him, whispering of the fascinating results and how much potential Subject Seven had.

Billy forces himself out of Memory Lane and sighs heavily, feeling the weight of his memories wearing down at him. It’s not something he allows himself to think about often, but being around Jane is already reminding him. It’s not her fault though, neither of them asked for this.

Not knowing how much time has past, Billy makes his way into the house, clothes in hand, straight to where he assumes the bathroom is all while ignoring the Party. He can hear the water running, and he knocks. 

“I’m going to set the clothes on the sink.” He calls out. He quickly opens the door and sets the clothes sink, before exiting quickly. He sighs (he’s doing that a lot today), and heads into the kitchen. 

The poppy, upon noticing him, begins to chirp happily. Billy smiles, and pulls a seat from the kitchen table out to sit down. Billy quickly pulls the poppy over to him and gently strokes it, smiling to himself. The poppy relaxes beneath his fingers, and chirps quietly.

He stops when he hears angry footsteps, eyes flickering up to see the pack of brats (his sister included) advancing on him. He internally sighs when he sees Wheeler's still angry expression. They all crowd the table, and Billy feels like he’s about to be integrated. 

“What the hell happened outside? Did you hurt El?” Wheeler demanded, and _damn_ if this kid wasn’t getting on his nerves. Billy might just have to punch him.

“No, and Jane can handle herself better than all of you put together without moving, so you can stop trying to be intimidating because you’re shit at it, Wheeler.” Billy huffs, idly beginning to pick at his nails. His hands aren’t dirty, but his nails are a bit chipped and his palms are calloused from many long hours working in the garden.

“Wait, what do you know about El?” Henderson asked, narrowing his eyes. Billy freezes. Shit, he wasn’t supposed to know anything about her abilities.

“You know more than you’re letting on, don’t you?” Sinclair says, head snapping to Max “What the hell is going on here? Did you know about this Max?” Max shakes her head frantically.

“I haven’t told Billy anything, however he found out about El was on his own.” She says, looking at Billy warily. Wheeler slams his hands down on the table, and the poppy squeals. Billy brings the plant closer and glares at the boy. “How do you know about El’s powers?” 

Shit shit shit shit. Think, Billy, _think._

“I didn’t know anything for sure, you just confirmed it though.” Billy replies, forcing a smirk on his face. The collective panic on everybody's faces is worth his own moments of panic. 

“Listen here, asshole-” Henderson begins to say, before being interrupted.

“What’s going on?” Jane slowly walks into the kitchen. She’s wearing the clothes Billy grabbed her, a gray shirt and overalls, but no shoes. Her hair, despite it being wet, is already starting to curl and get in her eyes and Billy wants to snicker.

“He knows about you, and he won’t tell us how.” Sinclair blurts out. “We can’t trust him, he knows too much already!” Jane gives him a questioning look. He hasn’t exactly told her the extent of his powers, so she’s probably wondering how too. Ever so slightly, he pulls the poppy closer, and her eyes light up with realization and, to his immense joy, extreme interest.

Jane looks significantly less confused now, and merely pulls out the chair next to Billy and sits down close to him. Billy reaches out and ruffles her hair quickly, smirking at their gaping audience. Her hair now resembles a birds nest, making Jane giggle and Billy is _delighted._

He takes a quick second to glance at Max and sees her looking highly suspicious. Billy is very aware that he hasn’t ever stood out to be a particularly brotherly figure, at least not often or in a way that portrays what he actually wants to say. Instead of _“Stop hanging out with that bitch Sinclair, he clearly makes you upset and he’s involved in bad shit,”_ it reflects as _“That’s the type of person that you don’t want to hang out with, fucking listen to me.”_ Not only did it sound racist and dickish, but clearly also not at all effective. He’s almost certain that played a part in Max hanging out with Sinclair too, to stick it in his face at his seemingly racist comment. Props for her for that, but not fucking really. 

Wheeler opens his mouth to say something, but the sound of a car pulling up stops him. The air becomes thick with tension, and nobody says anything for a minute as they watch the door. He hears several car doors open and close, and steps up to the door. Jane tenses up beside him, and Billy clutches the poppy closer as the door swings open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i posted a few days later than I normally would have, but I had to go out of town and there was no wifi so now I offer you a 2140 word long chapter in return. 
> 
> ALSO do you guys have any ideas for potential bonding moments??? I'm curious


	8. I Trust You, You Trust Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooooo I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I have my final coming up and band camp is kicking my ass because we have a grade 6 piece. Also like my fingers hurt from holding the mallets so I don't wanna type lol

The door opens and Billy watches as four figures, 3 awake and one not so awake but all looking exhausted, walk in the door. Will Byers is being carried by his creep brother, and looks like he’s been through hell and back. Ms. Byers doesn’t look much better herself, and he can see the stress she’s carrying in her face and shoulders. He feels bad for her - she's a caring mother that wants to keep her children safe, willing to go to lengths others wouldn’t even dream of and he respects it. Johnathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler look equally as stressed, but Billy doesn’t feel any sympathy for them. 

The brats hurriedly rush over to Will, swarming him and asking as many questions as they possibly can. Hopper is immediately talking to Ms. Byers, quietly asking her something but Billy can’t hear it over the amount of noise the Party is making over their newly returned member. Billy and Jane watch on, not moving from their respective places. 

“Are they always this loud?” Billy asks Jane, watching a small smile creep on her face. It’s an answer enough, so Billy takes it for what it is. He has no doubt that those four had probably lost their shit upon meeting Jane, who he imagined was having a rough time adjusting to a time outside of a lab. 

The thought made him furrowed his eyebrows. She had escaped and then tossed in a mess with the Upside Down, and then cooped up in a cabin for a year(and visited wherever her sister was, but Billy didn’t know those details). There was no actual time to adjust to other people outside of Hopper, and staying in a cabin holed up didn’t sound healthy. It was a small note in his brain, but a very important one, to remember to get Jane out of the cabin when this mess is over and actually do something that she enjoyed.

“What is he doing here?” Nancy Wheeler’s voice echoed through the house, making all chatter about will stop. It also put all the spotlight on him, much to his annoyance. Billy internally sighs.

“Came to pick up shit bird, saw the dead demodog in the fridge, tagged along.” He shrugs. Ms. Byers immediately turns on the kids.

“You put a dead demodog in my refrigerator?!”

Henderson looks attacked. “It’s a groundbreaking discovery in the field of science! I could buy you a new fridge to replace it after I make millions!” 

“Wait, how come _you’re_ the one to gain credit for the demodog? You didn’t even kill it, you just had Steve stuff it in the fridge in a blanket!” Sinclair complains loudly, gesturing to Harrington.

“You covered a demodog in one of my blankets too?! That thing is disgusting! I want it out of my house by tomorrow night.” Ms. Byers looks appropriately pissed off at this news, but Billy can see that she also looks very, _very_ upset for a reason that is entirely not about her fridge. He doesn’t say anything out loud, but he projects his confusion about her to the poppy. He becomes alarmed when the poppy instantly droops, radiating grief and sadness that Billy _loathes._

 _ **'B** **obby Newby, gone dead. Many many demodogs, gone. Love Bobby. Bobby Joyce love. Gone.'**_ His heart breaks at that. If not for the poppy, then for Ms. Byers. He didn’t quite acknowledge it until now, but it makes sense on how the poppy is here in the first place. A single, hardworking mother of two would have a hard time going out and getting a plant in her spare time, and even if she did, why would she? It’d be something else to take care of, even if it was easy. A poppy as a gift however, _does_ make sense. 

Billy reaches out and gently strokes the leaves, projecting sympathy and love the best he can. Jane gives him a confused look at the action, but reaches out and starts stroking the leaves with him. This cheers the plant up significantly, already feeling less upset, and Billy can’t help but smile at her gesture.

“Happy?” She asks him, looking at the plant. 

“Less sad.” He replies.

“Half-way happy.” Billy cocks his head to the side, thinking.

“Still hurting.” Her face falls a little at that, and Billy’s heart twists. He doesn’t exactly mean to be a Negative Nancy (ha), but it’s the truth. He won’t hide it from her.

She looks from the plant to him. “How?” 

“Whispers.”

“Bad?”

“Annoying, at most.” She nods, a faint smile on her face.

“Do you trust them?” Jane is looking that the group in the living room, completely forgetting about the pair in the kitchen momentarily, thank fuck.

He thinks about Sinclair, who made his sister upset and betrayed the Party by telling Max about the Upside Down. He thinks about Harrington, who was ready to fight him and lie to him about his step-sister's safety. He thinks about how Dustin lied to the rest of the party about his pet demodog, who Billy now realizes was the same demodog in the tunnels. He thinks about Hopper, who kept Jane hidden for a year without telling the people who grieved for her. He thinks about Johnathan, who stalked Nancy in the woods and took pictures of her. He thinks about Max, who hates him and would probably be happy if he was dead. 

“Can’t.” Jane looks very sad at this, but nods. He reaches an arm out and pulls her close, a sort of one armed hug. She curls into his side anyway, resting her head against his chest. “Trust you, though,” He murmurs. She hums in reply, eyes closing. Billy puts his chin on Jane’s head, and small gesture of protection and comfort. 

This day has probably been _exhausting_ for her, it was for Billy and he didn’t do half of the things she did. She’d probably fall asleep here if Billy doesn’t do something. Though drawing attention to them at this moment probably wasn’t the best idea, he doesn’t really care. His sister had a long day and need rest. 

“Hey!” He calls out, watching as the people in the living room turned around to face them. Several of them have immediate looks of annoyance, but all quickly turn into confusion and shock. Hopper narrows his eyes at the scene, probably wondering what the hell Billy Freaking Hargrove, registered asshat, was doing practically cuddling his pseudo-daughter. “Jane’s about to pass out on me, is there a place she can sleep?” 

“She can take my bedroom.” Ms. Byers replies, looking a tad bit wary. “It’s the last one down the hall. I’ll show you.” Billy nods once, and carefully (ignoring all glares) scoops up Jane, who doesn’t protest in the slightest. She’s very light, he notices. Joyce leads him down the hall, and he hears footsteps following them. He sighs.

Upon seeing the bedroom, he pauses. It’s not exactly plain, but it’s not heavily decorated either. There isn’t anything personal except a picture frame or two, and it makes Billy’s heart ache, just a little. He gently sets Jane on the bed, who crawls under the covers despite being in overalls. He struggles not to smile.

“Okay, you can leave now.” Wheeler’s voice is behind him, and Billy rolls his eyes as far as he can without getting them stuck in his head. (He’s still not sure if that’s true or not, but it’s a commonish saying that he’s picked up on and maybe it has a grain of truth?) Hopper is beside him, looking like he very much agrees. However, Billy gives zero fucks about what they want. Well, maybe not Hopper. He's pretty good with a gun, and he's the chief of police.

“I’ll leave when Jane _wants_ me to leave,” He growls at the kid, who takes a step back. “Jane, do you want me to stay or leave?”

She doesn’t even hesitate. “Stay.” Billy smirks at Wheeler's gaping expression, who’s looking at Jane like she’s gone insane. Billy looks at Joyce, who’s been watching this all silently, for permission to lay down. She gestures the go ahead, and Billy begins toeing off his shoes and taking off his jacket. He sets the jacket at the end of the bed and carefully laying down next to Jane on the covers, propped up slightly against the pillows. 

Jane doesn’t hesitate to use him as a pillow despite the blanket boundary, and Billy is surprised by how much of a cuddle bunny she is. Billy hadn’t let anyone touch him for years, but Mom was patient with him. Hopper looks like he’s about to have an aneurysm, and it leads Billy to think that a cuddly Jane is probably an extremely rare thing. Wheeler looks rejected, and he rolls his eyes _again_. 

“There’s enough room for you to squeeze in, Wheeler. You don’t have to look like a kicked puppy.” Wheeler scoffs, and storms out of the room in a fit. Jane snickers beside him, and Billy is proud. Hopper is looking at Billy like he’s about to murder him now, and Billy thinks that he’s been wanting to sigh a lot today,

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Billy murmurs, gently playing with Jane’s damp hair. She’s beginning to nod off already. A smile manages to creep on his face.

“Why does she like you so much, kid? I’ve never seen her do that with someone she’s just met.” Hopper looks genuinely confused, and Billy’s small smile falls off his face. He doesn’t respond for a while, thinking about what to say.

“We understand each other.” Billy says slowly, quickly looking away from Hopper and back to Jane. “I want to keep her safe.” 

“We do too.” Ms. Byers whispers. “We lost her once, and though I don’t blame you for what you did Hop, more people wanting to keep her safe isn’t a bad thing.”

Hopper doesn’t say anything, but he gently sits on the bed beside Jane, who’s now completely asleep and curled up to Billy. “The kid’s been through a hell of a lot, Hargove. Actions speak louder than words, so if you mean what you say then you better damn well prove it.” 

Billy nods once, knowing more than well that words don’t mean shit in the long run. Ms. Byers gently pulls Hopper up and out of the room, saying something about how they need to talk to the rest of the kids about what happened. It sounds like bullshit to Billy, but he sees it for what it is. Ms. Byers is a blessing in disguise. 

Billy doesn’t say anything, gently playing with Jane’s hair as she sleeps. His eyes close involuntarily, and he finds himself falling asleep beside her, arms wrapped protectively around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joyce snuck in my fic and I have no regrets. I love her. Also sorry to the poppy, i gave the lil bby some heartache because I can completely see Bobby giving Joyce a bright and happy plant because the man was a sweetheart and a dork.
> 
> Pllsssss comment. I will give you more chapters if you do lol


	9. Pancakes and Fist Bumps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Billy deserves a soft morning.

Coming to in the morning feels gentle. He’s somewhere in that state where he’s semi-conscious enough to know what’s happening, but not so far where is isn’t feeling the fuzziness of sleep. It’s a soft feeling. He’s still wearing clothes from last night, which makes him feel a bit odd but it’s ignorable. He can also feel somebody curled up into his side, and it takes him a moment to realize that Jane is still sleeping.

Billy’s always been an early riser, maybe too early to be natural. There’s something about the quiet moments before everyone gets up to live their life that Billy appreciates. He used to use this as the time to fix breakfast for Mom in the morning, if he wasn’t already out in the garden chattering away at plants. Now he uses his early rising as an opportunity to get out of the house in the morning before Neil wakes up-

Oh.

Oh no.

Billy jolts, now fully awake, and realizing that he most definitely did not come home last night with Max, and Neil is going to kill him.

“Shit shit shit,” Billy groans, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. The other is wrapped around Jane still, who’s starting to stir. Her hair is the most atrocious bed head he’s ever seen, and he’s seen his own. He gently unloops his arm from around her and slips off the bed. He shoves his feet in his shoes and throws his jacket over his arm before making his way to the door. He has to get Max home now.

“Brother?” Billy turns to see Jane propped up on her elbows, blinking at him sleepily and looking confused (and hurt). “Leaving?”

Ah fuck, he can’t leave like this.

He walks back over, giving her a quick peck on the top of the head. “Just for a bit, I’ll be back.” She grabs his hand before he can turn around, and he finds himself being scrutinized very closely. Jane looks at him for no longer than five seconds, but it feels like an eternity. She must find whatever it is she was looking for, because she becomes panicked and significantly more awake than before.

“No.” She says firmly.

“I don’t have a choice, Jane.” He feels like crying, all of the sudden. Jane must pick up on it too, so he figures his body language gave him away.

“Bad place?” She looks like she wants it to be any place other than that, and Billy wishes for that to be the case. He wants to tell her that actually, it’s a place that's somehow more hellish than the Labs, and every time he walks in the door he feels like death may come with one wrong action, one wrong move. Neil is unpredictable like that.

“Not the worst.” He says instead. “Come on, I’ll make food before I go.” She doesn’t look extremely happy, but she does perk up at the mention of food. He gently pulls her out of bed, making his way towards the kitchen. He can see Ms. Byers at the table, not looking very awake and sipping a cup of coffee. He wonders if she slept at all, or just stayed up the whole night instead.

“Good Morning Ms. Byers,” He says. She jumps a bit and looks at him, surprise written all over her face. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself; my name is Billy Hargove.” He offers her his hand to shake, and she takes it. In a quick moment, some of his manners shine through and he gives her hand a small kiss on the hand before letting go. She looks a tad but ruffled at the gesture, but proceeds to talk to him, nonetheless.

“Joyce Byers, though you already know that.” She gives a weak chuckle. “Call me Joyce.” Billy gives her a small smile. Beside him, Jane’s stomach rumbles loudly beside him.

Right. Breakfast.

“Joyce, would you mind if I used your kitchen to cook breakfast?”

“Oh uh, yeah sure. Of course.” He drapes his jacket over a chair and begins making his way to the sink to wash his hands. The poppy, he notices, is back in its rightful spot and chirps happily when he sees it. He projects his happiness to the poppy, pleased when it straightens up a tad bit more.

“Do you ladies have a preference?”

“Eggos.” Jane says, and Billy grins.

“Do you have a waffle maker, Joyce?” Joyce shakes her head. “We have the stuff for pancakes though, if you want.”

“That okay for breakfast, Jane?” She looks a little sad at the lack of Eggos, but nods. An idea pops into his head. “Want to help?” Jane nods eagerly and gets up, jumping to his side.

Jane washes her hands too and the two of them set to make the pancakes, which after a bit of debate (Jane wins, obviously), they decide to make for everyone. Pretty much everyone is passed out in the living room in various heaps on the couch and floor, because a glance at the clock says it’s only 5:45. He doesn’t know how late they were out last night, but he wouldn’t be surprised if everyone slept in till noon.

Joyce had gotten up to help too, but Billy quickly made her sit down because “Joyce, you are a hardworking mother of two boys. Let somebody else do something for you. Just direct us to your ingredients.” She had merely given him a small smile and done as he said, probably to tired to protest.

Jane, he found, was extremely eager to learn how to cook, but was very quick to make a mess. He’s not entirely sure how he got flour in his hair and how she got batter on her face, but it makes the three of them giggle anyway. The pancakes are plain, because he has a feeling with as many people as their serving, they probably all have very different preferences for pancakes.

He finds it startling how easy it is to be relaxed around Jane. Joyce as well, who reminds him of Mom to a scary degree. He sees how slowly, some of the stress in her shoulders melts away as the three of them (mostly Billy and Joyce) hold a quiet conversation as they make a mess. She’s nothing like Susan, and Billy thinks that if anyone says that she’s a bad person he will have to strangle them.

“How do you know how to cook?” Joyce asks, looking at him curiously. Billy has just poured some of the batter on the pan into several even circles and froze upon hearing her ask that. He doesn’t answer right away.

“Mom taught me, a long time ago.” He says quietly, watching her reaction. Joyce seems to understand what he meant though, because her eyes look sad. Jane goes disturbingly quiet, and there’s nothing but the sizzling of the pancakes to be heard for a while. Billy pokes at one of them with a spatula, seeing that it’s a dark golden color underneath.

“Alright Jane, I’m gonna flip it.” Jane looks excited and watches intently Billy carefully and quickly flips it over. “Hot damn. Just have to be careful cause the pans hot. You want to try?” She nods and attempts to mimic what Billy just did, resulting in a very oddly shaped pancake, but a pancake, nonetheless.

“Hell yeah kiddo, fist bump?” He raises his fist and she looks confused. Right.

“It’s a thing people like to do when they do a good job at something, or as a greeting thing. You just bump your fist to mine.” She taps the top of his own fist with her fist, and Billy laughs. It’s not what he was expecting, but he enjoys it anyway.

They continue flipping pancakes, and a pile of them grow on the plate on the table. Joyce decides to help with the toppings, cutting several pieces of fruit and gathering several bottles of syrup from the demodog-less fridge. The table, in the end, is now full of large stacks of pancakes, syrup, honey, cut fruit, berries, sugar, and other small toppings.

Billy places a few pancakes on a plate for Jane and Joyce, handing them off with a small smile. He takes some of them himself and he and Jane decide to make smiley faces with the fruit platter. Her pancakes have a scary amount of syrup, and Billy makes a mental note that she most definitely has a sweet tooth. His own pancake has honey, powdered sugar, and cinnamon on it.

“We did good, sis.” It’s quiet but full of pride, and Jane’s smile lights up the room. Joyce either didn’t hear them or decided not to say anything. Her own pancakes have a bunch of blueberries on it, with a little bit of syrup.

The whole morning has been incredibly domestic and peaceful, which is something that Billy hasn’t had in a very, very long time.

A quick look at the clock shows that it’s now 7, so people should be getting up soon. Billy’s not ready for the soft morning to be over just yet. He’s definitely not ready to be near so many children and generally bitchy people in the morning, and he’s not ready to drive to the house where Neil is, so he lets himself enjoy eating the pancakes with Jane and Joyce before facing the day ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not so much poppy but more Joyce, who I love. Also I just?? love the idea of domestic bonding??? Have some pancakes, you guys


	10. Notepad and A Pen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm gonna be faster with the updates, just had to pass my final lol

The table’s peaceful as they all eat their pancakes, but Billy can hear someone stirring in the living room. He actually hears several someones and quiet cursing, so he figures somebody started moving under a dog pile and the rest are getting pissed off in a very sleepy state. Probably the Party Children, if he had to guess.

Jane and him share a look before giggling again. Her laughter is bright and happy, and it suits the peaceful and domestic morning so far, if you ignore Billy’s panicked awakening. He can hear someone stumbling up and about, and watches as Max stumbles in the room. Her hair is everywhere (Billy’s hair isn’t that much different from last night, he didn’t move much), and she squints at the scene in the kitchen before plunking herself down in the chair next to Billy. 

He’s a bit surprised by this, even if Max is usually nicer in the morning. “Morning,” She says yawning. 

“Hey Max, want a pancake or two?” Joyce asks her, ever the sweetheart. Max nods, so Joyce begins grabbing her some. 

“Did you make the pancakes?” She asks Joyce, who shakes her head and places a plate with two pancakes in front of her with a smile. “No, Billy and Jane were kind enough to make breakfast this morning. I just got out toppings.”

“Since when do you make breakfast for people?” Billy ignores the question, her very brief moments of niceness disappearing quickly. 

“We have to leave soon, Neil wanted you home last night.” He says, grabbing a small handful blueberries from a container. He offers some to Jane, who takes a few with a smile, before popping the rest in his mouth. He likes fruit, sue him.

“So? I don’t care, tell him I was at a sleepover.”

“Uh huh, and who’s sleepover would you be at?” 

“Just some girl from school.”

“You know that isn’t believable.”

“What the hell do you want from me Billy?! Just come up with some excuse to get Neil off my back, god knows how many lies you’ve told him!” Billy’s head snaps up at that, glaring at Max for all he’s worth. 

Max, he knows, doesn’t know shit about what Neil is really like. Neil is fatherly to her, he might even love her, but he’s not like that for Billy. He’s Billy’s own demon from hell, and he haunts Billy’s nightmares as much as the scientists from Cali do. She knows they have a tense relationship, and it’s true that Billy lies. But Neil is not his dad, and does not care for his well being in any way. From an outsider's perspective, Billy can see how it looks. A rebellious son who spends all the time he can outside of the house who isn’t on good terms with his dad who’s angry and worried about him.

But it’s not. He wishes it was.

“Don’t talk about shit you don’t understand, Max.” He spits out. Max looks ready to fight him, but looks down at the table instead, not meeting his eyes. Billy stares at the table, hands clenching in his lap. The table is silent for a while longer, and he feels Jane gently place a hand on his shoulder. He glances up to look at her, seeing her concerned expression. He doesn’t give her any answers, but she must know that Neil is the source of his distress. 

“I wanna hit the road before the rest of the Party wake up, I don’t want to deal with those brats for longer than I have to.” He says, not looking at either of them. Jane removes her hand with a quiet sigh. 

“You still owe us an explanation for your freak out in the tunnels, yesterday.” She mutters. Billy ignores her, but doesn’t finish his pancakes, appetite forgotten. 

Every time that he thinks about the Mindflayer, it becomes even more messed up. He doesn’t like the Party, he doesn’t even like most people, but he doesn’t want them dead.

That brings up the thought of Jane, again. Jane, who’s first response to seeing a distressed teenager in the woods is to start a conversation with them. Jane, who immediately upon seeing somewhat like her, stood up for him immediately and without question. Jane, who felt safe enough to cuddle him within an hour of meeting him. _Jane,_ who fucking made pancakes with him and Joyce at 6 in the morning. 

The Mindflayer wanted her dead most of all. It _seeked_ that feeling, It wanted to lavish in it, to feel the success that the one thing stopping it from accomplishing its sense of purpose. He can’t help but shiver at the thought of it, because it’s chilling to the core. 

That nameless feeling that it felt when Billy made contact with it is something he never wants to think of or experience again. He knows, deep down, that the Mindflayer most definitely is _not_ gone, because that nameless feeling says many things, and failure is not one of them. Another quick glance at Jane next to him, who is staring at Max with a look of distaste, proves that _yes,_ he can and will help them defeat the Mindflayer next time.

“I’ll just write it down.” He eventually says, poking at his mostly eaten pancake. The sooner he tells them, the better, right? “I don’t need to be here when they read it, we have to leave.” 

Max seems to realize that it’s the best she’s going to get from him so she sighs dramatically and exits the kitchen towards the living room, not even bothering to eat her pancakes. Bitch.

Billy turns to Joyce. “Do you have a pen and paper I can use?” She nods and hurries up to go grab him the supplies. 

“How’s your writing so far?” He asks Jane, who cocks her head to the side in thought.

“Messy and slow.” She says, looking a little embarrassed. He nudges her gently. 

“Don’t sweat it kiddo, it took my a long time to get where I am today.” In truth, Billy will probably never be where he could have if he raised like an ordinary child. He knows this, and it shows sometimes when he occasionally struggles to hold pencils, to focus on words, speak, and other things. He has words now, accurate words, but he notices they can’t cover as much meaning as feelings and actions do. Those, he also knows, are not so easily faked. 

Billy is smart, observant too, even if he doesn’t show or look like it. Body language and his surroundings are something he’s always familiar with. Easier to read people that way, and it can be useful when it comes to people like Neil. It’s looking at a person, determining if have any intent to hurt you within the immediate future, and going on from there. 

People aren’t usually trustworthy, and he doesn’t really want anything to do with them if he can help it. Being unpredictable while predictable is something that’s always thrown Billy off, and telling the people asleep in the living room what he saw is something he doesn’t want to be here for. He knows that they aren’t going to like it, but he doesn’t know what’s going to _happen._

Joyce reappears (the angel) and hands him a notepad and pen. Billy takes it, thanking her quietly. He carefully holds the pen, trying not to think too hard about it, and begins to write. 

He doesn’t have a whole lot to write. Some of it simply _can’t_ be written in words.

_It’s dark and cold. We are very high, above Hawkins Middle. Demodogs howl in victory, and your bodies are in the field below._

_You all are barely recognizable, torn to shreds and rotting. It wants all of you dead, and it wants this world. It wants Jane dead most because she is the only thing stopping it from succeeding. It won’t stop. It is still here._

He takes a deep breath, ripping this page out of the notebook and folding it carefully. He doesn’t mention the forest, somehow that feels too personal. He hands it to Joyce, who has been reading over his shoulder. Her hand is covering her mouth and he can see her shaking her leg anxiously, looking like she wants to hover over them both. Billy wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what she decided to do, either. Jane had been carefully reading along with his writing as well, and looks defeated at the last line.

“I closed the Gate.” She whispers to him. “How is it still here?” Billy shrugs. 

“I’ll find out and tell you later, but I have to drop off Max at the house.” He stands up, cleaning all of their dishes quickly. Jane and Joyce don’t say anything, not even looking at him. Ignoring the still sleeping masses of people, Billy walks over to Max. She’s sitting on the ground, glaring at the floor like it’s done something to offend her. 

“Time to go shit bird.” She huffs and stands up before stomping out the door, closing it loudly behind her. More people begin to stir. Billy quickly makes his way to the kitchen. The poppy is chirping very sadly, and he gently touches the tops of the plant to soothe it, an unspoken promise that he will return.

“We have some of your equipment in my trunk, I’ll come back later to drop it off.” He says, now looking at Joyce, who looks sad. 

“Drive safely, you’re always welcome here Billy.” She says, giving him a small smile. He nods, and quickly turns to Jane, who immediately rushes up and hugs him tightly. He returns the hug, giving her a kiss on the head. “I’ll be back kiddo, don’t worry.” 

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Content with that, Jane slowly lets go. Billy grabs his jacket and walks out the door, waving once more.

Max is in the passenger seat, having not said a word since Billy started the car and drove away. It’s still fairly early, so there’s little to no traffic, and Billy takes it as a blessing in disguise as he completely ignores the speed limit of 45. The silence between them is heavy, but Billy doesn’t know what to say to her.

“Why’d you do that, back in the tunnels?” She asks quietly, taking a break from staring out the window to look at him. “You would’ve died, and it would have hurt a lot. You knew that too, but you tried to protect me anyway. Why?”

This is a heavy topic for a car ride conversation. One that Billy definitely does not want to crack open and lay out all before, undoubtedly, getting the absolute shit beat out of him. He’s not expecting them to immediately be on good terms after what happened, but it does hurt how suspicious she sounds about the whole thing. He can’t quite offer her the truth either. What does one say to their step-sister, who is practically an intolerable long-term stranger, but who they would also die for without hesitation? 

Billy doesn’t know how she would take the truth: that, surprise, he does actually care about whether Max dies or not, and he wanted to give her a chance to live even if it meant he was ripped apart in the process. Billy doesn’t know how long he’s been quiet, but he knows as soon as he opens his mouth that it’s the wrong thing to say.

“I didn’t want the consequences of what would happen if you died.” Yes Billy, sound like a complete and utter _douche._

Max looks furious, as she should, and she looks ready to punch him in the face. “You never care about anyone but yourself! You probably fed El lies just so you could get on her good side!” 

Billy slams on the brakes, making them both lurch violently forward considering he was going 70 miles per hour. The brakes are very displeased and shriek loudly as the car lurches to a halt. Max nearly hits her head on the dash, but their both wearing seat belts because Billy has an issue with speed limits. He knows the seat belt will bruise but he ignores it, it’ll just add to the collection later.

“Don’t you ever,” He grits out, “say that I manipulated Jane in any way, shape, or form. You don’t know jack shit about me Max, but know that I have no intention of ever hurting her.” Max stares at him with wide eyes, mouth pressed in a hard line and looking at him like she still doesn’t believe him. 

“You don’t know anything about El-” She begins, but Billy stupidly cuts her off.

“I know more than you.” He mentally face palms, because that is _not_ something you should say to somebody who’s already suspicious of your intentions. Max looks a little uneasy. 

“How can you know more than me? You just learned about everything _last night._ ” He bites his tongue instead of replying. Right, playing the role of someone who knows jack and shit. 

Instead of answering, he starts driving down the road again, still ignoring the speed limit. Max looks like she wants to say something, but one look from Billy stops her. He doesn’t want to answer that goddamn question, because then he’d have to tell her _everything._

When they get to the house, Max practically bolts from the car and into the house, slamming the doors behind her. Billy sighs. So much for a quiet entrance. He’s parked next to Neil’s car, so he knows that Neil hasn’t left the house yet.

He turns off the car and sits there for a moment, vaguely tuning in to how the forest is doing. None of them are feeling pleasant at the moment, and he doesn’t like it. Billy knows that they know what happens in the house, the plants are excellent at spying on people, and they hate it. He can’t do anything for another few months though, but as soon as he can Billy’s getting the hell out of dodge.

Making Neil wait is probably a bad idea.

He hurriedly gets out of the car, grabbing his jacket on the way out. He mutters a soft “hello, darlings” to the shrubbery around him before walking on the porch. He grabs the door handle and pauses, feeling the trees emotions pressing down on him. He can feel their rage, their sadness, their sympathy. 

Billy could choke on it.

He pushes down his own feelings of dread before opening the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry guys. Neil's asshatery will be in the next chapter. Or I could do a quick flash back to bby Billy?? like when he's with Mom and her garden?? Or maybe I can do that as a one shot and make this a series?? I'm open to both. Tell me whatcha think
> 
> comments give me life btw


	11. Rain, Rain, Go Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for a long period between updates, band is kicking my ass and I hate football games because I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO MOVES THE HEAVY ASS SHIT. that being said, I have actually planned out the next few chapter though, so yay
> 
> Okay this does have abuse. I glossed over the heavy amount of it, because I cried when I tried to do it detailed, but the injuries Billy receives ARE GRAPHIC so if that's triggering to you guys... just please be safe. I worry, you guys.
> 
> National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453  
> National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
> 
> ily guys okay? Please be safe. I'm very worried.

Billy’s never thought any house with Neil in it was a home. 

Neil carried this presence wherever he went, one that demanded you put your focus on him. It was odd, because everything about him seems almost normal. He’s average height (maybe a _bit_ taller), a masculine build, somewhat handsome features, pays taxes on time, says hello to the neighbors, and also fools everybody damn well into believing he’s a decent person.

Billy didn’t fall for it, not even in the beginning. He’s spent too much of his life around those same type of people to be fooled. That being said, walking into the house feels like walking to his death.

Billy quietly shuts the door behind him, a stark contrast to Max’s slamming of the door. Then again, she doesn’t have anything to seriously worry about in this house. He gently places his jacket (keys inside) on the nearest available surface, and walks towards the dining area, where he suspects Neil might be.

Billy’s not wrong either, but he’s glad Neil wasn’t in the kitchen. Small miracles.

He’s leaning against a chair casually smoking a cigarette, Max is nowhere in sight, and he’s staring at Billy. Though perhaps _glaring_ would be a more accurate description. He’s clearly been waiting for Billy too, and that’s not a good sign. He can feel his stomach clenching as Neil begins to walk _(stalk)_ towards him.

“Do you remember what we talked about?” He breathes the smoke in Billy’s face as he steps even closer. The smell of smoke seems to cling to him, and Billy feels like it’s going to suffocate him. Neil continues to glare a hole in him.

“Respect and responsibility, sir.” Billy quietly states, looking at Neil’s icy gaze head on. It’s a rebellious move, not to mention a bad one, but Billy refuses to look anywhere else. He refuses to be weak, even if his slightly trembling body says otherwise.

“That’s right, we did.” His eyes spark with barely concealed fury and he grabs Billy by the shirt with his free hand, yanking him even closer. “Is that little stunt you pulled last night what you count as responsibility?” 

It’s a trick, and Billy knows it. 

“No, sir.” He whispers. Neil’s face turns furious then, and Billy braces himself.

“I guess I’m going to have to get the message through another way, then.” Billy jerks away, barely managing to hold back screaming as Neil shoves the burning cigarette into his forearm. (Billy allows himself to feel bitter knowing that if he hadn’t rolled up his sleeves to make pancakes this morning, it probably wouldn’t have hurt as much. Just for a moment, though.)

Burning feels different from other types of injuries. It’s sharp and piercing, and it rips away every other type of bodily feeling you have for a moment so you can only focus on that pain. It’s a distraction from everything else, and certainly enough of a distraction for Billy to miss the blow towards his stomach. Billy gasps, and Neil takes this as an opportunity to shove him to the floor, and he lands with a loud _thunk_.

“Fuckin’ pathetic.” Neil spits, looming over him. Billy clenches his eyes shut, and quickly covers his face. He knows what’s next, it’s been looming over him since last night. 

It’s all a cycle, in the end.

Time passes by. He doesn’t know how much, but he knows it must be a significant amount of time. Punches and kicks seem to rain down _\- that analogy has always pissed him off, rain is nothing like this -_ and Neil’s voice is barely heard over the blood rushing through his ears. Billy can’t pay attention to what he’s saying, but he gets the point Neil is trying to make. A last swift quick to his chest _\- he’s struggling to breathe -_ and the assault stops. Neil grabs his arms _\- they hurt so much already -_ and digs his nails in Billy’s skin, pulling him closer to Neil’s own face. Neil looks sympathetic, almost pitying. Never in a million years would it be sincere.

“You need to learn responsibility, Billy. The world is going to chew you and spit you back out without a damn.” He gently pets Billy’s hair _\- he whimpers at the touch -_ and gives him a small smile. It’s not kind. “I’m only trying to get you ready for the real world. That’s why you have to look after Maxine, Billy. She’s your sister, and the world is going to chew and spit her out too. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” The words are spoken softly, and sickly sweet.

“No sir.” His chest burns. 

“What’d you say? I couldn’t hear you.” Neil is _toying_ with him.

“Yes, _sir._ ” Billy says louder, ignoring the burn. There’s burning in his eyes too, but he ignores it. Neil smiles, and it’s full of teeth. 

“Good. I really hope I don’t have to teach you another lesson in correcting your behavior, Billy. I’m only trying to help you.” Neil drops Billy’s arms, and he falls back on the ground with a small _thud_. “Get the fuck out of my sight.” 

Billy doesn’t hesitate to scramble up, stumbling his way towards the hallway. He spots Susan in master bedroom, not subtly watching from the door frame. She moves away as soon as Billy sees her, shutting the door quietly. Billy wants to scream at her.

He ignores it and continues to make his way to his room. His heart aches when he sees Max’s door shut, music blasting from behind it. Billy wants to scream at her too, even if she doesn’t know anything.

He shuts his own door quietly, resisting the urge to lock it. It would only get him in more trouble. His body aches straight to his bones, and he wants nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day away. His legs are starting to give out on him, and he gently sits down on his own bed, hissing as his body screams in protest. Billy cries silently as he begins to take off his outer clothes, but he manages. He shoves them on the ground, and he feels even more tired than before. 

The cool air of his room soothes him, just for a moment. He pushes the covers aside and lays his back on the bed gently, crying out softly as he does so. He wraps the soft covers around him, a poor attempt to become one with his bed. 

Billy knows he will feel even worse if he sleeps, so he ignores his tiredness for the moment and takes a moment to think about his day. 

How was it that less than four hours ago he woke up cuddling his new pseudo sister and making pancakes with her? And now his body, sans face, is covered in bruises and a painful-ass cigarette burn in the one place he’s supposed to feel _safe?_

Well. Nowhere Neil is is a safe place. That was a fact written in stone to Billy.

He feels safe with Jane though. He wants to keep _her_ safe. But Hopper could keep her safe, and the Party too. She didn’t _need_ Billy, but she sure seemed like she _wanted_ him. 

Billy couldn’t keep Mom safe, but maybe he could change that with Jane?

It was worth a shot.

Billy was bitterly aware that he was starting to fall asleep, but he no longer fought it. He was too tired to do so.

Waking up was its own sort of hell. His body was rigid and aching, and every time he took a breath his chest and stomach burned. Billy knew if he moved anymore than _laying down_ that it would hurt like fuck. He resisted the urge to sigh.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, so he must not have spent that long in bed. Neil was probably at work, then. Susan would be out, doing whatever it is that Susan does. Max would be home since it was a Saturday. Billy groaned at the thought, smushing his face into his pillow.

Fucking great. 

Well, no time like the present to face the day. 

Billy slowly sat up, twisting slowly to put his feet on the floor. He was already panting heavily, and his torso felt like he was being punched all over again, sore and tense. He ignored the stinging in his eyes, and tries to push himself off the bed. He tries multiple times before he’s successful, but his body feels like it’s about to collapse. Billy risks a quick look over his body and immediately regrets it.

His torso, legs, and arms are littered with dark, angry bruises. They’re primarily on his left side and middle area of his torso, and Billy can make shapes that can only be because of Neil’s boots. He even has a clear shoe print on his chest, for fucks sake. Billy can see some skin that isn't bruised, but everywhere hurts regardless. He can’t see his back, but he can feel some bruised there too.

His arms look less like a mess, but still not great. They have significantly less bruises, but there’s also the burn and small crescent cuts. Both of which Billy needs to make sure doesn’t get infected. The back of Billy’s legs are mostly fine, but the front looks just as bad as his stomach. He’s grateful that Neil didn’t go after his feet and hands this time. 

(A voice in the back of his head says that Billy got off very lucky, and if Max wasn’t there it would have been much, much worse.)

Billy sighs and makes his way to his closet, shuffling things around until he finds what he’s looking for.

It’s an old light blue sweatshirt, slightly faded from the wash and well worn despite being a size or two too big. The sweatpants Billy grabs are along the same lines, only instead light gray. 

Billy doesn’t often wear these clothes. He loves them, but hates when he has to wear them. They are, of course, something only usually worn on a particularly shitty occasion.

He grabs a pair of boxers too as an afterthought, and begins stumbling his way to the bathroom.

A quick peek down the hallway reveals Max still in her room listening to music, and Neil and Susan nowhere to be found. He lets out a deep breath and continues his way to the bathroom, hoping a shower will help him feel somewhat like a human being again.

The shower helps. The grime from last night and this morning are gone, and his hair is no longer a frizzy bedhead mess. He feels more relaxed, even if his _everything_ is still hurting. Billy ponders if washing his bed is worth it, but decides he doesn’t give enough fucks.

Billy rifles through his bedside drawer, searching for Aloe Vera gel. His bedside drawer, because Billy has enough common sense, has a fake bottom he put there a long time ago. It’s extremely large, and it’s filled with things Billy definitely does not want anyone to go through. 

It contains simple bandages, a small notebook, a scary amount of oils, a shameful amount of homemade bruising balm that Billy is sure could kill a horse (literally. He should put some on Neil just for the hell of it.), and other ointments Billy makes. Billy did find it a _bit_ morbid to use plants, but he could easily heal them in return. Win-win.

Mom had been very involved in home-style remedies, and Billy had picked up the methods involving plants very quickly. It has a lot to do with the fact that Billy would rather die than take anything from a doctor, and because understanding anything involving plants came to him naturally.

The notebook was full of said methods, detailing different uses of plants and different ways to treat injuries. Mom had put it together for him, a replica of her own notebook. It was something Billy valued more than himself. 

(He tries not to think about how she only gave him a copy _after_ Neil came into his life.)

Billy finds the Aloe Vera gel, mentally giving himself a pat on the back as he carefully opens it. He pokes two fingers in and carefully dabs his circular burn, wincing slightly as he pokes it, but relishing the soothing effect it has on his skin.

Thank fucking God for aloe.

Billy puts it back, replacing the fake bottom on and piling the gross magazines he bought at the gas station on top. He just shuts the drawer when he hears a knock at the door. 

“What the hell do you _want_ , Max?” Billy shouts, irritation clear. He is _not_ in the mood to deal with her shit right now.

“I need a ride to the arcade.” She says, muffled. Billy resists the urge to throw something at the door. Not that he could do it well, but he could damn well try. 

“Go find somebody else, I’m not in the fucking mood to deal with you.” Max opens the door and pokes her head in, and Billy wishes for death.

“Nobody-” She breaks off, suddenly looking very confused. “Are you wearing _sweats?_ ” Billy doesn’t answer the question, which has an obvious fucking answer.

“Why can’t you get a ride from someone else? You have all of the nerd’s parents and Harrington. Go bother them and leave me the fuck alone.”

“You just have to drop me off and then you can go do whatever you want!” She insists, and Billy tries to glare a hole in her.

“Fine.” He spits out. “Give me a minute to put on shoes, and then we’ll get the fuck out of dodge, okay?” Max nods quickly and ducks out, shutting the door. Billy sighs heavily, wincing at the aching in his torso at the action. He grabs a pair of socks and sneakers (yes, the comfiest pair) and slowly puts them on. When he finishes he walks towards the kitchen, grabbing the envelope of cash Susan left for them (at least she’s good for _one_ thing) and walks out to the living room with as straight of an expression as he can.

Max gives him a weird look, so he grabs the keys from his jacket and dangles them obnoxiously in front of her. “Let’s get going, shitbird.”

As they walk out the door and into the car, Billy’s heart clenches at the sounds of anger and pain from the forest around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry Billy, I love you.
> 
> Also my medicinal plant phase completely leaked into Billy's character. I regret nothing, because it plays along REALLY WELL with his ability to fuck around with flora DNA.  
> I also have started working on some of the flashbacks as one shots! yay!  
> More plants in the next chapter for sure btw
> 
> comments give me life, ily guys and be safe. If any of you guys drive, drive fucking carefully


	12. Blue Raspberry Slushies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is.... not some of my best work. It's tad bit of a filler, but whatever. College is rough my dudes, and I had a bit of a writers block. REGARDLESS, i decided to show a tad but more the human side of Billy. I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE, I WILL BE BETTER ABOUT THAT I JUST NEEDED SOME TIME TO GET MY LIFE IN ORDER A BIT!!!

The tension in the car makes Billy want to bash his head against the wheel.

Their only interaction is Billy splitting the money silently between them and tossing Max her share. Max doesn’t say anything to that, instead resorting to staring out the window like she’d rather be anywhere else. Billy supports that wish wholeheartedly.

He hasn’t _said_ anything, but his labored breathing is louder than he wants it to be. Billy rolls down the window and puts on loud blasting music to hide it, and if Max notices she obviously doesn’t have anything to say about it. 

Billy, for once, isn’t breaking the speed limit that much. His entire body _burns_ and the bumpy road isn’t really helping. He’s not sure what he put in his stereo, but whatever it is is giving him a headache. The sunlight is pissing him off too, so he shoves a pair of sunglasses on his face.

When they arrive at the arcade, Billy spots Sinclair, Henderson, and Wheeler at the door, chatting among themselves. No Byers, so he must be at the Byers household resting. He pulls up in front of the entrance, and the kids eye him weirdly. 

He’s suddenly incredibly aware that he’s wearing fucking sweats, his hair is a mess, and he looks like shit. Billy has lost many Bad Boy Points.

Max bolts out the door as soon as he stops the car, slamming it behind her and starts making her way towards them. “I’m not picking you up, so find another way to the house, shitbird!” Billy calls out, driving away before she can respond. Billy watches her give him the bird in the rear-view mirror and snickers quietly. Billy knows after Neil’s whole _thing_ this morning that abandoning her is definitely not a good idea, but he can’t find it in him to care right now.

Billy drives aimlessly for a while. 

He doesn’t really have a plan for today, and he’s feeling the exact opposite of active. He tosses around the idea with visiting his garden, his original plan for last night. However, he’s very clearly _not_ in the shape to go trekking in the woods right now. They’ll be okay without Billy for a bit. They don’t really _need_ him, he just likes taking care of them. 

That still leaves Billy for a loss of what to do. He’s bored, in pain, and fucking irritated at life. He’s also starting to get a bit peckish, and he should probably put ice on his bruises too. The Camaro also needs gas, since Billy’s wasting it all driving around in a pained haze. He groans loudly at the thought. 

All of these things can be solved with a trip to the gas station, so Billy makes his way to the nearest one, sighing heavily.

The gas station is somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Regardless, Billy still fills his gas tank and creeps in the building. Billy doesn’t see anybody except the clerk, who’s reading a magazine behind the register. He glances up at Billy before going back to his magazine. Small miracles.

Billy grabs a small hand held cart and heads towards the frozen section, grabbing the largest bag of peas he sees and tossing it in. He swipes a large bag of potato chips and a large assortment of candies, not really paying attention to what he grabs, and tosses those in too. He nearly cheers when he spots a slushie machine in the corner, and fills a cup with blue raspberry before heading to the counter to pay. 

He’s very slow moving, but he tries not to think about it.

Billy plops the cart on the counter, sighing heavily as he grabs the money from his pockets to buy his groceries. He’s momentarily thankful that Susan's guilt about Neil and concern for Max means Billy has a very generous amount of money at hand.

The man finally looks him over once before putting down his magazine and scanning his items.

“Rough day, eh?” The man is older, with a fading salt and pepper hair line. He looks kind, almost grandfatherly. Billy blushes slightly when he realizes how he must seem like to the man - a teenager in old sweats with messy wind blown hair and shitty sunglasses, looking like death warmed over. Who is buying an absurd amount of comfort food and a frozen bag of peas. Yikes. 

The man doesn’t look at him with disgust, instead merely giving Billy a small smile and bagging the items quietly. 

“Nothin’ to be ‘shamed ‘bout. Some days are worse ‘n others, kid, but one day things’ll be better. 8.59.” Billy doesn’t say anything, instead merely hands over a ten. The register opens with a pop and Billy flinches slightly at the loud sound before scowling internally. He ignores the bitterness he feels at that reaction, instead watching as the man just rifles through the register and gives Billy his change. 

“Take care, son. I mean it.” Billy glances at his name tag, _Alfred._

“You too, Mr. Alfred.” He grabs the decently heavy bag and his slushie, making his way out to his car. 

It’s only when Billy is driving away and slurping his slushie that he realizes he feels a little better than before.

Billy absolutely refuses to go to the house. It’s only one pm, and Neil doesn’t get to the house until 7 on Saturdays. Instead, he drives over to the quarry.

It was one of the best places Hawkins had to offer. He recalls the story of Wheeler and Henderson being bullied with Jane later swooping in like a badass and he almost smiles. Jane’s been helping people since the beginning.

It’s surprisingly peaceful at the quarry, and better yet, _there’s nobody around._ Billy parks on the side of the road and grabs his slushie and junk stash before slowly making his way to the edge of the cliff. The plants are humming around him, coming to life in his presence. Billy would talk to them, but he needs time to himself right now, even if it’s stuffing his face with a bunch of junk and drinking sugar-syrup-ice in his favorite flavor.

So instead, Billy gives them a small smile and settles down at the very edge of the cliff, far away just enough to be safe but close enough to see the entire scene below. 

The water is mesmerizing, a dark flat teal that looked harmless, but Billy knew was anything but that. The cliff side exposed hundreds of different colors, being emphasized by the bright sunlight. If Billy squints hard enough, he thinks he sees small animals stirring the grasses down near the shore. Billy shrugs it off, and starts going through the bag of junk he bought.

It’s a lot of food. His bag of potato chips is set to the side as Billy begins to examine the candy he bought - Skittles, Nerds(his favorite), Airheads, Sour Patch Kids, and an assortment of chocolate bars. Billy grimaces when he spots a 3 Musketeer Bar. 

He searches for the frozen bag and slips it under his sweater, hissing when it touches him. It’s not pleasant, but it’s not the worst. Billy decides that everything fucking sucks when he opens the Nerds with some difficulty, and half of the box spills around him. He sighs heavily and begins eating the rest anyway.

It’s only when Billy has finished the blue raspberry slushie, eaten a box of Skittles, eaten the whole bag of chips, and had a whole other box of Nerds that he wonders if Jane has ever had candy before. The thought makes him pause, and he looks back in the bag. There’s a lot of fucking candy still, because Billy might have gone _slightly_ overboard. Shrugging, Billy takes out the shitty ice pack from under his sweater, grabs his candy, and tries to stand up.

The key word is tries, because Billy realizes that sitting on the ground for a long period of time has absolutely done him no favors. His body screams in protest, and his stomach clenches harshly as he struggles to stand up. He falls back to the ground with an _oof_ and hisses slightly when his back flares up.

Ow is an underestimate. 

Billy tries again, clenching his jaw and managing to stand up this time. He ignores the tears in his eyes and shuffles to his car, thankfully not too far away. He opens the door and gently sits inside, tossing the bag into the passenger seat. He pulls the door shut and sits there, listening to the high pitched ringing in his ears and wonders how the hell his life turned out like this.

It’s not fair. Nothing about Billy’s life has been fair. Nothing about what’s been happening to him _should_ be happening, and yet it is and it hurts him anyway.

(A small voice nags at Billy, saying that there are some things that make it worth it.)

Billy glances at the bag of candy next to him, and the next step on his agenda is already laid out for him. He starts the car and drives away from the quarry, destination in mind.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Billy likes nerds. Fight me. Also I just needed Billy in sweats and looking like a mess, it's all I ever wanted.
> 
> (If/when I add Alexei that will have a slushie bonding moment. idgaf.)
> 
> Keep safe you nerds, get some sleep if it's past 12 and do your homework and eat something green.


	13. Two Sided Coin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl this chapter has a really weird few paragraphs in it that I put in there for no other reason other than the fact that my own brain does that irl. Idk. Billy does it too now I guess when he's nervous.  
> also if this moved to quick for you sorry, but I love Joyce and trusted her after .3 seconds. so did everybody else. it's just a fact.
> 
> also I got sick (still recovering and on drugs, yay) so this was posted later than I wanted. Will be better about that, I swear. Nobody likes that guy that posts once a month and then abandons their story.  
> also I think the longest chapter yet

Billy thumps his fingers against the wheel, staring at the house in front of him. He feels a familiar restless energy buzz through him, and he resists the urge to scream. He hasn’t driven all the way here just to chicken out though, so he takes as deep a breath as he can manage, and gets out of the car as painlessly as he can, and walks to the front door slowly with the candy bag in hand. 

Billy has no reason to feel this anxious, but he raises a hand and knocks on the door anyway. He hears moving behind the door, over his loud internal monologue of _fuckfuckfuckfuckfuc-_

“Billy?” Joyce looks surprised to see him, but it quickly turns into a look of concern. “Is everything alright? Come in, come in!” Billy lets her lead him in, and she gently maneuvers him into the kitchen. She pulls out a chair and gently makes him sit down and grabs the bag from him, setting it on the table. 

(He thinks Joyce might have caught his wince, if the way her face seems to become almost afraid.)

Everything about Joyce is _caring,_ Billy notices. But she cares like a two sided coin. On one side of the coin, Joyce looks like a sweet person, with her wide doe eyes and a soft smile, and her touches are gentle and loving, _meant_ to make you feel safe and loved. The other side, though Billy has yet to personally witness this, is a fiery woman with eyes that burn with determination and a look that buries people in the ground, and her touches are protective and _powerful_ because she’ll be damned if somebody or some _thing_ hurts who she loves and cares about.

Joyce is a god among women _and_ men, Billy’s pretty sure.

He thought, in the beginning, that maybe the ferns had given him a far fetched story about Joyce. He thought that maybe she had been a little crazy, and maybe she was but she was so _determined_ to make things okay in this shitty town in the middle of Indiana that he wanted to shake everyone and yell, _“THIS WOMAN IS AMAZING AND I’VE ONLY KNOWN HER FOR A DAY!”_ right in their stupid faces. 

Mom wasn’t like that. Susan isn’t, even with Max. Neil isn’t, and never will be, like that.

Billy isn’t aware that he has been completely spacing out until a cup of tea (?) is set in front of him. Billy stares at her when she sets the poppy from seemingly out of _nowhere_ in front of him too. 

(The poppy is very happy to see him, but very upset about his state of being. Word travels fast with plants.)

“I, uh, noticed you really liked my plant. The kids mentioned it last night, too.” Billy scoots his chair closer to the table and pulls the plant to him, humming quietly. 

“Thank you, poppies are one of my favorite plants. I mean, I love them all of course, but poppies especially.” Billy gives her a small smile. Joyce smiles back. Billy looks down at the plant and gently begins stroking it, hearing it give content chirps. He missed the poppy, and it hadn’t even been a day. Joyce is watching, and Billy finds that he doesn’t feel like he has to hide his affection for the plant, however weird it might seem.

The thought makes him pause.

Is telling two people in two days about his powers too much? He hadn’t told anyone outside of the Labs sans Mom.

He can trust Joyce though. She’s involved with the Upside Down shenanigans, and she’s kept quiet about that. She would adopt Jane on the spot, god forbid something happened to Hopper, even though she probably doesn’t know Jane that well.

He doesn’t want to hide his abilities where he doesn’t have to. He wants to trust her, even if it is the only and most ultimate test of trust. He has to think about it, before he makes any decision to do so.

“Billy?”

“I wasn’t born with that name.” _Billy you fucking idiot-_

“Is it short for William? I can call you that, if you want me to.’ Joyce looks so caring and _trustworthy_ and Billy is gonna have an aneurysm. He continues anyway.

“It’s not William either.” Joyce looks confused, and Billy looks down. The words are on the tip of his tongue, and there’s no backing out now. His hands are starting to shake.

“It was Seven.” He whispers, peering back up at her. He watches her confused expression morphing quickly into one of understanding, and then horror, and Billy looks back down. “Hawkins isn’t completely one of a kind.”

He doesn’t know why he’s surprised when Joyce practically leaps at him to hug him tightly. He can’t hug her back, mostly due to the awkward position and his attempt to protect the poppy from getting crushed.

It’s an extremely sweet gesture, but _fuck,_ it hurts. He must have made some kind of noise, because Joyce loosens her grip and pulls back enough to look at him. She looks him up and down, her eyes lingering in a few spots that make Billy grimace.

“You’re hurt.” It’s a goddamn _statement_ and Billy had no fucking intention of telling Joyce anything that’s wrong with him when he came here, and yet all of this is happening within the span of 2 minutes. 

Joyce gently strokes his cheeks, wiping away tears he didn’t know he had. She pulls away and sits in the chair next to him, scooting as close as she can next to him. She gently takes one of his hand in hers and rubs it soothingly. Billy avoids looking at her. Her doe eyes will make him crack for sure.

“Where are you hurt?” She asks, worry evident in her tone. There’s no point in saying that he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Billy can’t deny he isn’t, basically everything about him is saying that something is _wrong wrong wrong_ -

“You’re hurt?” Jane’s voice is coming from the entrance to the kitchen, and Billy sees her eyes wide with fear. She’s in different clothes from this morning, and she looks stressed. (Billy files that away for later.)

Billy knew coming here was a bad idea.

“I’ll be alright kiddo.” The smile on his face feels fake. She walks over to him, looking him over carefully, and Billy can tell she sees right through that. It’s not _exactly_ a straight up lie, because his bruises and burn will heal. Mentally is a completely different story. A lie of omission.

“I told you not to go.” Jane says softly, sitting in the chair to the other side of Billy. 

“I know.” He didn’t want to go. He never wanted to go. 

“Billy, what happened? Who hurt you?” Joyce grips his hand harder, and Billy close his eyes, sighing quietly.

Fuck this. 

Fuck this so much. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” It’s the equivalent of putting a band aid on a bullet wound, but it’s not a lie. Billy does _not_ want to talk about this. His eyes are burning, and he ignores it.

“We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us, honey.”

“I don’t need any _help.”_ Billy snaps, glaring a hole in the table. “Everything’s _fine,_ and _I’m_ fine.”

Silence. 

“Sorry.” He whispers. They don’t deserve this. He ignores the wetness in his eyes, and pulls his hand out of Joyce’s, choosing to fidget with them in his lap. He waits for their reaction, his heart pounding harder.

“Okay, Billy.” Joyce says finally, sounding very, very tired. (Billy shoves down guilt.) “You don’t have to tell us about what happened. But I would like an explanation on what you, uh, said before. If you want to, that is”

Billy sighs, and reaches out to grab the tea (is it tea?) on the table. It’s still warm, and a long sip reveals it to be green blueberry tea. His favorite. Fun.

“Lets move to the couch.” He says finally. He stands up, breathing sharply at the action, and grabs his mug and the poppy. 

“Grab the bag, kiddo.” Jane nods, and grabs it. Joyce leads them to the living room, unnecessarily, and Jane and Billy sit on the couch. Billy sits cross legged on the farthest end, and Jane practically cuddles into his side, setting the bag next to her. Joyce sits in the chair next to him, curling up. 

Billy thinks they all look like a happy cozy kinda-family. Maybe they could have been a weird nonofficial pseudo-family, if the reason they were all gathered there didn’t make him want to vomit everywhere and Joyce had adoption papers. He wouldn’t mind.

He takes another long sip of tea before setting it on the ground (ow) and putting the plant in his lap. He doesn’t say anything, and instead listens to the silence around them, not yet ready to speak.

Billy’s grateful that people, as a whole, hate awkward silences. There’s something about them that makes you buzz with the desire to flee, but your curiosity keeps you there, pinned in place in anticipation for the next round of events with the hope that somehow, things will get better about why there’s an awkward silence in the first place. 

Life-altering changes are delivered with a silence, a hesitation, even a fraction of a moment before the inevitable bombshell is cracked upon on your life. Nothing is ever the same after, and you’re left with the mess that you have to deal with afterwards. Or don’t deal with at all, because some people see that as an option too. Billy knows that silence. 

Trust is shown is silence, too. The classic _“Do you trust me?”_ followed by a pause. Hold that pause too short, it’s happily accepted. Hold it too long, and all that trust they had in you is tossed to the side with the doubt that you don’t trust them, so their going to not trust you first and then feel bad for themselves after instead of thinking about the reason of _why_ you don’t trust them in the first place. Billy is hoping and praying that he isn’t putting his trust in the wrong people, or it’s going to kick him in the ass later. He doesn’t want to deal with that silence ever again.

Guilt likes to stew in silence. You can say so many things without saying anything. A wall of silence, laid over all your guilt and shame. You can’t really _do_ anything with that type of silence, at least not for a while. You’re going to suffocate in it until your conscious kicks your ass into gear and you break the wall of silence with a hammer of your own creation, but not your materials. It doesn’t matter though, because the guilt is there regardless afterwards. It likes to creep in all the nooks and crannies, places you can’t clean them out from. Billy doesn’t think anything will ever make him clean again.

Billy has no idea what silence he’s in right now, sitting her between his self-adopted sister and closest mom figure he’s had in years. There are still so many types of silences. Billy can’t count them on his hands, not that he really wants to do something like that. Waste of time, in his opinion. Which is also not saying a lot because a _lot_ of the things Billy does is a waste of time. Though it does bring the question if doing nothing or do anything is really a waste of time at all, when death is inevitable and life could be seen as therefore purposeless. 

That’s what everything is, isn’t it? Valueless in the long run, insignificant at the moment. Doesn’t feel like much when you have inevitable death trailing after you, or it can feel like everything matters. But everything meaning everything is equivalent to nothing meaning nothing. Or anything meaning nothing. Or nothing meaning everything. They really are all the same in the end, not that people will have the ability to know that after their dead.

So maybe the silences _are_ significant. If everything is significant. Billy’s not really sure they are, so maybe nothing actually matters. 

He should really focus. His maybe-matters-maybe-not silence has dragged on for far too long. It’s showtime.

“Hawkins isn’t the only place where people like to experiment on kids. Back in California, people thought it was okay to do that too. I, uh, I didn’t get out till I was, I think seven years old?” He laughs humorlessly. “Always found it ironic that that was my name too. They didn’t- I don’t think they knew exactly what I was capable of. Not in the first few years. 

“At that point I didn’t know anything, everything they did was just the normal to me. The blood tests, the EEG scans. Sometimes they’d just set something down in front of me and leave the room. It’s when they first set a plant in front of me that I became interesting to them. They kept testing me after that, trying to see what makes me tick and what other _potential_ I have. Some they deemed worthless, others too dangerous for anybody to be around but me” He breathes in slowly, reaching down to pet the poppy in his lap. The plant has been giving him gentle reassurances since he started speaking, and he’s grateful.

“What - what can you do?” Joyce asks, looking simultaneously horrified and curious. Billy smirks.

“I’m _really_ good with plants.” He holds the poppy up. It has several almost snapped stems, probably from Joyce’s hug ambush. He hums, and begins to pet the plant. The stems begin to straighten themselves, successfully healing, and growing before their eyes. The poppy, the clingy thing that it is, wants to wrap around his fingers. He allows it do what it wants, and smiles when it chirps happily.

 **_“Happy happy happy, safe Billy safe Joyce safe Jane BillyJane JoyceBilly Joyce Jane Billy Billy safe together us yes yes us love love mine together.”_ ** Billy chuckles quietly. 

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too.” Joyce’s gaping mouth makes him smirk at her, and he watches as the poppy begins to wrap around his wrist entirely, roots and all. The pot is now empty of the poppy, and he clicks his tongue when dirt flies a bit everywhere. He sets the pot in his lap and gently kisses the still moving plant. Joyce and Jane are staring at him.

“Poppies are clingy.” He admits, watching as it continues to possessively curl around and around his arm. “It’s fine without the soil as long as it has me, I won’t let anything happen to it.” He looks up at Joyce.

“It loves you, ya know.” Joyce looks surprised, and a little happy. 

“How do you know? Like how can you do that?” Jane reaches over and begins to pet the poppy, giggling as it begins to wrap around her hand. Billy shrugs, watching the interaction.

“Plants don’t talk verbally like animals, but they definitely speak. It’s mostly pheromones I think, because they express more in concepts and feelings than individual words. They all do it differently too. This poppy, for example, is extremely different from General Sherman, that giant sequoia in California. Mom took me to visit it once.” Billy smiles at that memory. 

“Is that all, or…?” Billy shakes his head.

“No. Apart from communicating with them and sensing where plants are, I can manipulate their DNA. I’m not entirely sure how _that_ works, but it was definitely something that the scientists were very interested in for all the wrong reasons, and why I was considered very dangerous.” Very dangerous.

Joyce nods, even though Billy doesn’t think she really understands what he means by _all the wrong reasons_ and _very dangerous,_ and they both watch as the poppy completely maneuvers its way into Jane’s hair. Billy bursts out laughing at it’s ridiculousness, the pain worth the ridiculous look of her head.

“I love flower crowns and all, but I don’t think their supposed to look like that.” Jane giggles, and Joyce gives them a large smile. Billy reaches over and runs his hand through her hair, collecting the poppy gently and giving Jane a birds nest for a head. He digs a hole in the pot and gently places the plant in there, pleased when it obeys and begins to settle down. He covers its roots back in soil and turns to look at Joyce, who’s watching him with a soft expression.

“What?” He asks, suddenly feeling self conscious. Joyce just smiles. 

“Nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the candy.  
> Also green blueberry tea is my favorite tea, ever. Yes, Billy told joyce because he loves her and I love her and everybody loves her. I'm thinking of Hop next. 
> 
> also the power thing about the poppy being a weird Bow-truckle like thing is more of like Billy moving the plant with his mind but letting the plant have the freedom to do what it wants. It's like how the vines wrapped around his wrist.
> 
> please leave comments I love them and I love you all sm


	14. Pillow Forts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD  
> Okay so if any of you are in a marching band you know that October is basically Band Month and also midterms so like I have not had time to do it. I promise you it has not been forgotten, I still have plans for the future of this fic I just need to type them up. ALSO I have an incredibly detailed outline to a story that was inspired by some art. It was of a werewolf!Billy and witch!Steve and I was absolutely in love. I will write it, but I'm going to complete the whole thing first.
> 
> ANYWAY BACK TO THIS STORY  
> I will be posting more frequently after next week. I'm so, so very sorry for not posting sooner! I hope all of you are doing wonderful and that the last two months have been treating you well :)))
> 
> Comments are appreciated and I will pretty much always respond lol

Billy basks in the quiet peace between them, all eyes currently watching the poppy in his lap. The poppy has settled in nicely, but is continuously stroking Billy’s hand. He smiles slightly, but there’s a question poking at the back of his head. He hums, gently settling the poppy in Jane’s lap and stealing back the candy. He doesn’t trust her sugar intake. 

“So where’s Chief and Will?” Billy asks Joyce, reaching down to grab his cup slowly before taking a sip of his now lukewarm tea. 

“Will’s sleeping in his room, Hop’s watching over him. He’s a lot better from last night, but we’re still going to have to take him to the hospital soon. Still don’t know what the excuse will be for what’s happened to him, though.” Billy nods in understanding. Government cover ups leave a lot of loose ends. 

“I’m guessing Chief is coming with?” Joyce nods in response, sighing heavily. “I can stay with Jane till Chief comes back. I don’t think anybody wants to be alone after what happened last night.” Billy offers, glancing over at the small child under his arm. 

“Stay?” Jane perks up at the mention, and Billy grins at her. 

“Yeah kiddo.” 

“I think the kids are going to come back here as well at some point, though.” Joyce says slowly, smiling apologetically at him. 

Fuck his life. 

“...I’ll still stay.” 

“Great!” Joyce jumps up from the seat, making her way to the back of the house. “I’ll go get Hop and Will, then.” Once she’s out of sight, Billy groans loudly, throwing his head back against the back of the couch. He drapes his arm over Jane and turns his head towards her, feeling _extremely_ exasperated. 

“Jane, your friends are a pain in the _ass_.” Jane giggles, leaning into his side even more. 

“So what do you want to do? I’m not usually one to hang out with small humans such as yourself.” He teases, messing up her hair with his hand. She bats him away, giving him a glare with no heat. 

“TV?” 

“But that’s _lame,_ Jane. Don’t you wanna do something fun?” 

“I like TV.” 

“Think outside the box. Literally. Come on. TV is just a screen in a box. It’ll melt your brain.” 

“It’s a good box.” 

“It’s a metal and glass box, actually. With a shit ton of wires.” 

“I want to watch TV.” 

“Is Joyce’s TV even still intact? You threw a demodog through the window here yesterday.” 

“Didn’t throw it through the TV though.” 

“You’re a smart aleck.” 

“Smart aleck?” 

“Yeah, a smart aleck. Somebody who always has an answer for everything.” 

“That’s bad?” 

“...okay, technically, _no,_ but-” 

“Hargrove.” Hopper is standing in the doorway, looking like he wants to be anywhere else but there. “Joyce tells me that you want to stay with my kid until I get back.” 

“Yes sir, that’s true.” Hopper nods once, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

“I don’t know what you told Joyce that makes her trust you with _my_ kid so much, but you better keep to your word from last night. I trust Joyce, not you. I’m the chief of police, I can cover up a murder.” 

Billy doesn’t know if he’s serious or not. 

“I don’t think you’re setting a good example for Jane if you murder someone, Chief.” _W_ _rong thing to say wrong thing to say-_

But Hopper chuckles, and Billy feels less like he’s going to be murdered. “I’ll be back later, keep El safe. Not that she needs you for that.” 

“Ready?” Joyce approaches the group, and Billy can barely make out the bundle of blankets that is Will Byers under her arm. 

Will looks like he’s been through hell and back, and he’s paler than he has any right to be. His eyes are glazed over, not really focusing on anything. His hair is a greasy mess, and he looks so _unhealthy._

“You better get him to the hospital, very soon.” Billy says, frowning heavily. Joyce nods, and he watches as all three of them leave (Will doesn’t walk so much as shuffle), and Joyce waves goodbye to them with a smile as she shuts the door. 

Neither Jane nor Billy say anything, and they sit in silence. 

“I’m scared for him.” Jane whispers in the air, looking down at her hands. 

“Yeah. Me too.” 

More silence. Billy tries not to wonder what type it is, and instead focuses on why he’s here in the first place. “I brought something I think you’ll like, pass me that bag.” 

  


Billy, luckily, has the forethought to _not_ give Jane the whole bag of candy. He loathes to imagine that in another universe, he gives her the whole bag and the world realizes how extremely unprepared it is for a powerful telekinetic young teen on a sugar spree. 

So he only gives her a bag of skittles. Jane appreciates it regardless, and Billy finds it a refreshing change of pace considering all the bullshit going on around him. 

At some point, Billy has accepted his role as a human pillow. He wasn’t sure why he initiated it in the first place, but as it turns out, Jane is extraordinarily gentle and gives light touches. So she is nestled into his side, his arm lightly draped over her, with her eyes hypnotized by the television. In Jane’s lap is the poppy, completely content to be absentmindedly touched by the small child. 

Billy thinks that her brain might begin to rot at this point, if she watches this much TV at Hoppers house. 

They’re watching some cartoon - Looney Tunes maybe? He’s not _really_ paying attention - when the door is violently shoved open, and four kids push their way inside. On their faces are varying expressions of anger and panic. Billy feels the familiar burn of anger at seeing Max’s stupid face among them. She looks confused _(hurt)_ for a moment and looks between the two quickly. Her face finally settles on anger. 

Right. Billy’s the bad guy, because _that_ makes sense. 

“El!” Wheeler exclaims, rushing over and stopping in front of them. He looks between them so quickly Billy is almost concerned, and Billy sighs heavily, ignoring the ache again. 

(Something’s always hurting in one way or another, what’s a little pain with breathing?) 

“El, you can’t hang out with him! He’s a _mouth breather!_ ” Billy almost yawns. Almost. Under his arm, Jane shrinks a little at the accusation. 

Billy, for one, doesn’t think Jane deserves to deal with Wheeler’s bullshit. 

“I trust him Mike.” Jane says quietly, looking down at her hands. 

Just then, Harrington makes an appearance, actually shutting the door behind him. He looks carefully between them as well (Billy is getting really sick of that) and carefully makes his way to Wheeler, pulling him back. 

“Leave them be, Mike. El can kick his ass if she wants to.” Harrington looks like the words put a bitter taste in his mouth, and Billy squashes down the urge to grimace. A quick glance at Jane shows that she feels _very_ over their childish behavior. 

“Where’s Ms. Byers?” Sinclair pipes up, peeking around the kitchen doorway. 

“She and Hop left to take Will to the hospital. Kid looked like he was on the verge of death.” Billy calls out, settling himself a little bit more into the couch. He playfully bats at Jane’s hand when she not so stealthily tries to snatch more candy from the bag on Billy’s lap. 

“You’re gonna give yourself a stomachache if you eat anymore.” Billy gently scolds, placing the bag on the floor. “Trust me kid, those stomach aches suck. There’s always tomorrow.” Jane’s pouts, understandably, and he ruffles her hair in apology. 

He’s aware that the rest of the Party is watching them, so he rolls his eyes, groaning loudly. “Stop looking at me like I kick puppies for fun and chill the hell out, _Jesus."_

That seems to break the area of awkwardness, and the kids quickly disperse, Sinclair and Max down the hall and Henderson and Harrington to the kitchen. Wheeler slowly sits down next to Jane, and Billy rolls his eyes. 

The silence between the three of them is awkward, to say the least. Jane starts fiddling with the poppy, and Wheeler watches her with a confused look on his face. 

“So, why do you have that plant? Isn’t it Ms. Byers?” He asks. 

Jane nods. “Poppy likes to be held. Loved.” Wheeler looks intrigued suddenly. 

“How can you tell? Is it like another one of your powers?” Jane shakes her head, every so quickly glancing at Billy before answering. “Not one of my powers. But I’m sure.” 

Wheeler, for the most part, just seems to accept that it’s some weird quirk Jane must have. Billy figures that she has a lot of those, seeing as he has a few himself. Wheeler looks like he’s about to say something else before the rest of the Party returns, arms full of a bunch of crap. 

Sinclair and Max return with a scary number of pillows and blankets, and Henderson and Harrington have a scary number of snacks from the kitchen. Billy figures there must have been a plan in place before they got here. 

“What is this?” Jane asks, watching them carefully. The food is placed on the coffee table, which is then swiftly pulled away from the couch. 

“A pillow fort, of course!” Henderson replies cheerfully. “We’re gonna need the couch cushions though.” 

Fuck. 

Billy sighs heavily, unwrapping himself from Jane and pushing himself off the couch, trying not to wince at the burn that shoots through his chest. He settles into Joyce’s chair, folding himself carefully before setting the practically empty teacup on the side table. 

(He knows he won’t be welcome in the fort. He _knows,_ and he tries not to let it make him feel alone. Even if he doesn’t want to be anywhere near the gremlins. He pushes down the thought quickly, but not quickly enough.) 

Billy doesn’t offer to help them make the fort, and instead sits back and watches the chaos buzz around him. There was bickering, pillow smacking, and laughter. Jane stood off to the side next to him, watching along with him. He thinks that they must have forgotten that Billy was there, and eventually everyone was beginning to settle in. Still bickering loudly of course. 

It wasn’t a huge pillow fort. In fact, it looked less like a fort and more like a giant birds nest. There were pillows on the floor and a wall of cushions around them, blankets draped over everything or piled off to the side and snacks spread around the lumpy shapes on the floor. The kids made themselves even more comfortable, and Harrington briefly looks at them before staring at the floor instead. 

Billy looks over at Jane, who was looking confused, but interested. “Go on,” He says quietly, nudging her gently. “Go join them.” 

“Will you join too?” Billy looks back at the nest and shakes his head. 

“Nah, not really my scene. You should join them though.” Jane looks hesitant, but he nudges her forward. She gives him a small smile and sits next to Wheeler, who looks thrilled to have her next to her. Billy looks at Max and catches her eye (she’s leaning up against Sinclair, and Billy squashes down the feeling of anger he feels at that. It’s a topic to think about at another time.). 

She’s looking at him with an expression that makes Billy’s heart hurt. He can see the confusion in her eyebrows, the anger in her lips, and the hurt in her eyes. 

It makes his chest tighten, and for once it’s not because of the shoe-shaped bruise. 

He doesn’t say anything though. He doesn’t say anything when somebody turns on a movie. He doesn’t say anything when she cuddles up to Sinclair. He doesn’t say anything about the way she keeps glancing at him and Jane. He doesn’t say anything about the way her eyes linger just a little too long for comfort on his abdomen. 

He doesn’t say anything when the clock on the wall goes past 7, even when he wants to. 

Some part of him says he’s signing his own death warrant. The other part of him reminds him that it’s a _stupid_ analogy, and Billy doesn’t deserve what’s inevitably going to be waiting for him at home. He shoves both thoughts away, and watches the Party laugh and cuddle together on the nest of pillows. 

The poppy knows, of course. Billy can’t be that subtle. He lets it stroke his hand as he cuddles it to his chest, and eventually he falls asleep to the sound of quiet chatter and a stupid movie. 

(The last thing he hears is the sound of the clock ticking, but he’s not sure if that’s his imagination or not.) 

  



	15. Horde of Gnats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow two chapters in one day after over two months of not updating? It's a miracle.

Billy wakes up with a jolt. 

It’s not a nightmare. Well, it is, but it’s also 90% a memory from the Labs. He doesn’t want to unpack the science behind it, but he’s pretty sure dreaming while napping isn’t a good thing. He takes a quick glance at the clock on the wall. 

8:13. He wasn’t asleep for long then. His muscles and pretty much entire body are aching and burning, similar to when he woke up from his earlier nap. He can’t tell if the pain from earlier is worse or not, but Billy’s willing to bet that he doesn’t have any new magical healing powers that could suddenly make him feel better after not even several hours after an assault, so he’s probably feeling worse. It always gets worse before it gets better, and Billy hates that saying too.

He doesn’t stretch, because he knows that it would be a horrible idea to do so, but he watches the scene in front of him. Really, nothing about the pillow nest has changed. Sinclair and Max are still are over each other, Wheeler and Jane are talking about the movie on the TV (Disney?), and Harrington is watching everything with a look between exasperation and fondness. 

(He thinks for a moment, that Harrington almost seems lonely. He pushes it away.)

The food has significantly diminished though, and the blankets are in use now as opposed to lying around like a sad lump. When Billy looks at the window, the makeshift tarp is beginning to blend in with the dark night outside. It makes the colored mindflayer tunnels stand out, which Billy has tried very hard to ignore until now.

He sighs and directs his attention to the poppy. It’s still curled around his arm, and begins chirping quietly to him. Billy’s mind is still in a haze from the nap, but understands that it’s _very_ concerned about how he’s doing. He shifts slightly, curling up a bit more in the chair, and quietly mutters to the plant that he’ll be okay.

He wants to believe that it’s not a lie, but he’s not sure.

The plant isn’t content to just remain in the pot. It begins creeping up his sleeve, gently pulling itself out of the pot and into his sleeve, a few leaves peaking out near his wrist. He smiles and sets the pot on the side table, right next to his teacup. 

**_“Safe safe safe together love Billy Billy together safe love Billy.”_ **Billy hums, stroking it softly. He looks at the clock and sighs softly. 8:17. He should probably call the house. Neil will be home by now.

He slowly gets up off the chair, hurriedly rushing around the nest to reach the kitchen. He ignores the weird looks he gets. He stands in front of the blue telephone, stomach clenching. He does not want to call that phone. Chances are, Neil is going to be the one to pick it up, and he’s not going to be happy that Billy and Max aren’t already there. He feels his blood run cold at the thought, and he takes as deep a breath as he can before grabbing the phone with his free hand and bringing it to his ear.

The poppy curls tighter, and Billy wonders if he’s accidental projecting again. He rubs the leaves again, not entirely surprised when it just curls tighter.

He can hear the living room from here, and he quickly dials the home number before anybody comes investigating. His heart is pounding, and he brings the poppy to his heart, a gesture meant to soothe them both.

“Hello?” Billy nearly sags with relief, and he leans against the wall. 

“Hey Susan.”

“Billy! Where are you? Are you with Max?” Billy hears something breaking (glass?) in the background and frowns. “Max and I are at Byers, what’s going on?”

“He’s not happy Billy. You need to get over here with Max as soon as you can.” She sounds desperate, and if he didn’t know why she was pleading he would feel sympathy. But he knows better.

“Why? So he can turn on me instead of throwing around empty bottles?” Billy hisses quietly into the phone, anger rapidly growing.

“He’s just so _upset_ Billy. He didn’t know where you and Max were yesterday and you both won’t tell either of us the truth and…” She trails off, and he can hear another bottle crashing. Some slurred yelling. She sighs heavily into the phone. “Just come home soon, please. Maybe he’ll stop then.”

Billy grits his teeth and quietly asks, “Has he hurt you yet, in any way?” 

“No, but Billy-”

“We’ll be there in an hour. Why don’t you go lock yourself in your bedroom and pretend like nothing’s happening? You know, like you _always_ do.” He slams the phone on the receiver, leaning his forehead against the wall. He shakily rubs his free hand down his face, staring at the floor.

He doesn’t want to go back. He knows what’s waiting for him when he gets there.

“Billy?” Billy looks up and sees Max standing there, eyeing the phone like it’s a poisonous snake. 

“What do you want?” He growls out, narrowing his eyes at her. There isn’t any fear on her face, just mild annoyance and irritation. It makes Billy’s skin itch.

“Do we have to go soon?”

“We’re leaving once Hopper gets back. He’s at the hospital, trying to fit in with the government cover up or whatever.” He chuckles humorously. “They’re always messy.”

“And how would you know that?” _Fuck._

The Party is almost undoubtedly listening right now, and Billy wants to bash his head against the wall. Repeatedly.

“Just a guess.”

“Doesn’t _sound_ like a guess. Sounds like you know something.” Billy takes a step back involuntarily, and Max begins to walk closer. Her sharp blue eyes are trying to sear a hole in Billy’s head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Billy snaps back, trying to put some distance between them. It appears defensive, and Billy wants to scream at himself. 

Max looks ready to yell at him (and who knows what kind of mess _that_ would lead to) before the sound of a car door slamming has them both looking at the door before glancing at one another.

“Hoppers back, everybody.” Billy quietly announces, walking around Max to sit in the living room. He ignores the Party and places his ass right in Joyce’s chair, wincing slightly. The door opens, and Billy watches a tired looking Hopper walk in the door, four pizzas in hand. 

The buzz from the children is almost instant. Billy’s still trying to figure out how these dipshits saved probably the whole world when they have the attention span of a horde of gnats.

(He realizes that that’s exactly what the children remind him of - _gnats._ )

“Joyce is staying with Will in the hospital. Guess he’s gotta stay overnight for a few nights. Pretty sure Jonathan is going to join them later.” Hopper explains as he makes his way to the kitchen. Everybody. Including Jane, follow him into the kitchen. Billy sighs and gets up to follow them.

The kitchen is already busy. There seems to be a well oil machine between Henderson, Sinclair, and Wheeler, which Billy assumes is because of how much time they spend together. Harrington and Max don’t fit in as smoothly, and stand guard over the pizza while the other gnats (much better than _party)_ gather napkins, plates, and drinks. Billy rolls his eyes at the scene. Jane stands to his side, significantly more amused then himself.

Hopper’s seated at the table, looking like he’s aged several years in the past day. Billy doesn’t envy him. He zones out, looking out the window of the kitchen. It’s night time for sure, and after this he and Max definitely need to leave. But he can’t deny her pizza. Pizza is great.

Max surprises him by bringing him and Jane pizza. It’s cheese (Billy isn’t a major meat fan) and despite not feeling hungry two minutes ago, the pizza looks very good.

Billy sees it for what it is though. It’s a peace treaty between the two of them. He doesn’t know why she’s offering some to Jane other then being polite, but he figures it’s one of the rare things he doesn’t have an in on.

(He tries not to let it bother him. Holes in his story scare him.)

“We’re going to have to leave soon, right?” Max asks quietly, all signs of her anger moments ago gone. (He doesn’t trust it. He’ll figure it out why she’s suddenly nice later.)

“We have to be at the house within the hour.” Billy says, slowly taking the pizza. He doesn’t thank her for it, doesn’t see the point when she makes every other aspect of his life hell.

Max nods, looking unsurprised, but overall unaffected. She leaves the pizza for Jane on the counter and walks away to Sinclair and Henderson.

Jane and Billy share a look, but begin eating their pizza.

The buzz from the nest has migrated to here, and Billy finds himself wondering how Will fits in. It seems seamless, but maybe Will brings them even more to life. Surely Max and Harrington are throwing a wrench in the dynamic, as shown by Wheeler’s saltiness to Max and semi-politeness to Harrington, along with Sinclair's over interest in Max. It makes him narrow his eyes, but he still doesn’t say anything. 

Jane watches with him, seemingly content with the moment as well. 

He doesn’t acknowledge Hopper’s inquisitive looks in his direction, but he figures he can deal with that another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need sleep. This was not edited lol


	16. Rainbow Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHAHA I'm not dead. SO the plan is to have the rest of this story up and loaded before new years. Happy holidays.

Billy notices that Jane is almost unnervingly in tune with the mood of others. She keeps sending him these _looks_ like she knows something, and it makes him want to run out the door and hide in the forest.

With the horde of gnats thoroughly occupied with the delicious (mediocre) pizza, Billy and Jane sneak back into the living room. Poppy is still hiding in his sleeve, and as much as he would love to keep it forever, he doesn’t want to risk it’s health in any way. It takes gentle coaxing and more then a little reassurance to convince the poppy to go back into the pot, but when it’s safe and settled Jane gives it a gentle kiss and they both return to the kitchen.

Everybody is still munching on their pizza (Billy suspects Hop is actually on his third piece), and Billy risks a look at a clock. 8:32. His stomach clenches.

“Max, we gotta go now. Come on.” Billy states, reaching in his pocket to take out his keys. “Come on come on, we gotta be at the house within the hour.” Max scoffs, and abruptly stands up.

“I’ll see you idiots on Monday. Someone update me on Will’s condition.” She abandons her empty plate at the table _(rude)_ and begins storming out the door. Billy rolls his eyes, and pulls Jane into a quick hug, kissing the top of her head. 

“Stay safe sprout.” The nickname flows off his tongue without thought, and Jane’s beaming smile at the nickname warms his heart. He ruffles her hair, waves a quick goodbye to Hopper (fuck the gnats) and makes his makes his way to follow Max out the door.

As soon as he steps out of the house, the forest begins whispering to him.

**_“Angry angry drinking”_ **

**_“Smashing bottles-”_ **

**_“Unhappy and sad-”_ **

**_“Don’t go, very bad-”_ **

**_“Mad mad, unsafe-”_ **

**_“Us safe yes-”_ **

**_“Neil bad bad angry-”_ **

**_“Scared Susan-”_ **

**_“Coward woman-”_ **

Billy closes his eyes, rubbing his face once before making his way to the car. He’s not really expecting anything different from Neil’s usual night of drinking, which is to say 1) get very drunk, 2) break a lot of shit, 3) scare the hell out of Susan, 4) beat the fuck out of Billy, and 5) pass out on the couch.

Billy didn’t actually bother to lock his car door earlier, which is a bad move on his part, and he carefully slides into the driver side, wincing as he does so. He shuts the car door, huffing as he starts the car. He doesn’t look over at Max, but he can feel her eyes on him. 

For the first few minutes of driving, it’s a tense silence. Billy doesn’t feel like listening to heavy metal music, and Max hasn’t moved to turn on the radio even though she knows Billy would smack her hand if she did so.

“Why are you and El so close?” Max asks quietly. Billy clenches the steering wheel tighter.

“She wants to be understood, and I don’t think you idiots know how to do that. You guys just see her as this super cool girl her can kill a man with a thought and a nosebleed, but she’s more than that. She’s not a _tool.”_ Billy spits out, knuckles turning white as he gets angrier.

He’s not saying that the party was actively using her as a tool, but he doesn’t think they would have given her the time of day if she _didn’t_ have powers. Billy can’t entirely blame them, seeing as they’re all kids, but Jane is still a person with thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Even if those are all limited because of her isolation.

Billy wants to bring her out of that. It was so wonderful when Mom did that for him, and he wants to help Jane with that too. 

“Billy, you know jack shit about the party, don’t you _dare_ accuse them of anything.” Max hisses.

“They are literal pre-pubescent teenagers who are just starting to gain interest in girls, and _she’s_ the coolest person they’ve ever met and probably the only girl who’ll actually talk to them. God knows why _you_ started talking to them, those stupid kids are nothing but fucking trouble and I _told_ you that. I’m not stupid Max, I’ve seen some crazy shit and those kids seem to just attract it.”

“You told me to stay away from people like Lucas, who’s _black.”_

Billy scoffs. “Please. I’d have said the same damn thing if he was white, Chinese, Mexican, or whatever. Doesn’t matter what he looks like. And I was talking about his gang of buffoons too, and _obviously_ I was right, because you got caught up in all this Upside Down shit and you could’ve fucking died like everybody else did.”

Oh shit. That was too much information.

“Billy, how the _fuck_ did you know all of this? What the hell are you up to?” Max demands, looking at him with wide eyes. 

“I’m not fucking blind. Wheeler and Harrington aren’t subtle when talking about it, and I overheard them at a party talking about Barb. Who, like 4 other people, magically fucking _disappeared_ , along with Will. He literally raises the hairs on my arms every time I see him because something is so off about him, and not to mention Joyce is always watching him like something’s going to happen to him the second she looks away _._ Which brings me to the whole dead but not really dead Will thing, which is seriously fucked up.

“And don’t forget the poor forests and farms that basically decomposed within a day and are covered in some weird goo I’ve never seen before. Also, a _National Laboratory_ in Hawkins fucking Indiana? This place literally has more cows than people. It doesn’t make sense why it would be in the middle of fucking nowhere. No one comes to Hawkins except people who are trying to run away from something, trying to hide something, or were born here with no way of escaping. This place literally screams shady government business Max.” It’s perhaps the best lie Billy’s ever said off the head, and he mentally pats himself on the back.

It’s also very alarming, because basically everything that Billy’s said is pretty much public knowledge and if somebody _was_ paranoid enough, they could definitely figure out that something is going on.

“That...actually makes a lot of sense. Since when are you so astute?”

“Since always, you should listen to me. I’m not gonna lead you to your death Max, Jesus. I don’t hate you _that_ much.” Billy mutters, pulling into the driveway. The lights are all on, and Billy can hear the faintest sound of something crashing. He turns off the engine and sighs. 

“Great. Okay listen Max, I’m gonna need you to actually trust what I just said is true. As soon as you go through that door, run straight to your room, got it?” She opens her mouth to protest but he cuts her off. “Don’t ask questions. Here, take my keys. Just lock my door when you get out.” He tosses her his car keys, and exits the car before she can reply. He doesn’t know what mood Neil is in, but he doesn’t want him to see Billy’s keys and get any other ideas about punishments.

He suppresses a flinch at the shouting forest around him, and begins making his way to the door, stopping when he grabs the handle and listening into the house. It’s quiet right now. He quickly opens the door and walks in to see Neil sprawled on the couch. The coffee table is covered in empty bottles and he can see glass pieces on the floor, and he gulps. Behind him, Max closes the door and immediately begins making her way to her bedroom, only glancing back to him and Neil once before locking herself in her room. When he hears loud music beginning to play, he relaxes slightly.

“You’re a fucking shit, ya know that?” Neil slurs, taking a swig of beer. “I didn’t ask to be stuck with your ungrateful ass, should’ve killed ya the minute that horrid bitch died.” Billy feels his blood begin to boil, and he closes his eyes in an attempt to calm down. It’s a hit below the belt, and Billy knows that Neil only said it to rile him up. 

But here’s the thing about comments that are meant to rile you up. _They rile you up._

“I know the whole damn thing was your fault. You killed your fucking mother, I _know_ you did!” Neil hurls the bottle at Billy, who quickly jumps to the side and covers his face. The bottle completely shatters, flying at Billy, Neil, and across the room. The floor shines with the pieces of multi colored glass, and if it were anywhere else in the world Billy might have said that the lights were gorgeous. Billy is absently aware that some of it has nicked his face, but he ignores it.

A quick glance at Neil’s angry face proves that moving out of the way has only made things worse. And Neil sudden, shoe-less leap up to make his way to him only makes it worse. Neil is standing in a pile of shattered glass, and he immediately falls back on the couch, cursing extremely loudly.

“This is all your fault you fucking freak! You better get some fucking tweezers to get this shit outta my feet!” Billy hurriedly runs into the bathroom, not even questioning it. He grabs a first aid kit in the bathroom (some part of him is very bitter that his own personal kit is much larger) and he hurries back to the kitchen to grab a lighter to sterilize the tweezers. He washes his hands, fills a bowl with water, and grabs a hand towel that won’t be missed as fast as he can. He steels himself, and makes his way to were Neil is. He stands there for a moment, not sure whether to sit on the couch or on the floor with the glass. 

“What the hell you standin’ there for? Sit on the damn ground.” Neil growls.

Bill gently nudges away glass with his shoe, and carefully sits a bit away from Neil, laying out the supplies beside him. Neil doesn’t say anything, and merely watches Billy quickly sterilize the tweezers and gently places the hand rag in water.

He can feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest as he gently picks up Neil’s foot and inspects the damage. His stomach sinks when he realizes that most of the pieces of glass are small, and embedded in some of the bigger cuts. It’s not bleeding extremely heavily, but it’s not that pretty either. Neil should probably go to the ER instead of having Billy do it, but what the hell does Billy know?

Billy cleans the foot off with the rag, carefully avoiding touching the actual cuts themselves. Neil only hits his head once for accidentally hurting him during that, which Billy counts as a win. When he starts to pick out the tiny (but visible) pieces of glass, his hands begin to shake in fear, and it slows the process down a whole bunch. Neil isn’t a fan of that, and he makes sure that Billy knows it by hitting him upside the head. 

Within a few minutes, Billy can start to feel the beginnings of a migraine forming. He’s probably worn himself out too much today, probably stressed himself out to much. Such a task that he’s doing now always requires a tremendous amount of concentration, which also isn’t helping. He’s always struggled using tiny objects like tweezers, finds it difficult to control what he’s doing. But he has to do a good job at this or he’s in some serious trouble.

Billy thinks he’s managed to do a pretty decent job overall though, and he gently taps ointment on the big cuts and before wrapping it in gauze. Repeating it with the other foot follows a similar route, and is significantly quicker since there’s fewer cuts than the other foot.

On some level, Billy is aware of how fucking _humiliating_ cleaning his step-fathers feet is, and it makes him want to scream and punch and let it out in a way that hurts Billy too.

The more sensible side of Billy beats that feeling into submission, and points out that Neil will likely pass out from the alcohol after this. That part of him feels extremely triumphant when Neil does, in fact, pass the hell out.

He carefully stands up, trying to be as quiet as possible as he makes his way to the master bedroom. He opens the door to see Susan fucking lying in bed reading a book. 

“He’s passed out drunk, you can stop hiding now. You’re cleaning up all the shit in the living room, I’ve done my fucking part.” Billy snaps at her, quickly turning away to retreat to his bedroom. His body is, quite frankly, extremely pissed and protesting violently at all the movement he’s done in the past half hour. When he opens his door, he scowls when he sees Max on his bed, sprawled out like she owns the place. He shuts the door behind him, and crosses his arms.

“Any particular reason you’ve decided to make yourself at home in my fucking room?” Billy says lowly, not missing the slight flinch from Max.

“Wanted to see if your ugly mug was still alive. Which, apparently, you are.”

“Lovely. So are you going to get out of my room?” 

“Nah. I want to know why El likes you so much.” Max replies, shrugging. “When she saw me, she acted like I was dirt under her shoe and completely ignored me.”

“Yeah, well, you’re dirt under everyone's shoe.”

“Listen. You may claim to be supposedly freakishly astute about Hawkins, but we haven’t been here that long, I haven’t seen you near a newspaper once, and I haven’t seen you around Hawkins Middle either. It doesn’t add up.” 

“You’re not watching my every move, you have no idea what I’m up to these days.” Billy replies, leaning up against the door. He has a feeling that this will be a long conversation.

“You’re right, I don’t. I have no idea where you sneak out to when you think nobody will notice, and for all I know you could have actually been at the library looking at newspapers, but something tells me that if I ask the librarian, which I can totally make Dustin do for me, she won’t have any knowledge of you actually doing that.”

Billy is going to kick his own ass.

“You shouldn’t hang out with that kid. He’s only talking to you so he can date you. Bad idea all round.” Max gives him a _look._

“That is _so_ not the point I was trying to make, Billy. But ya know, maybe instead I’ll ask Hopper if I can hang out with El, add a little estrogen to the friend mix and have some chit chat. See what makes you so interesting and trustworthy.”

“Max, you better get the fuck out of my room before I make you.” Rolling her eyes, Max hops up off his bed and Billy opens the door behind him to let her out. She pauses, looking at him dead in the eye. 

“I’m going to figure out what you’ve been hiding Billy. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m going to find out what.”

“I’m not hiding anything asshat.” Billy growls, quickly shutting the door in her face and locking it. He releases out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and he quickly turns off the light before making his way to his bed and sitting down slowly. Shrugging off his shoes and socks, Billy brushes his hair out and carefully lays down on his bed. He draws a pillow in closer, trying not to cry at the way his body continues to protest.

The adrenaline from coming home is starting to wear off, and Billy is back to being incredibly aware of how hard it is to breathe and move. He carefully rolls over onto his back, staring at the wall beside him. It’s awfully plain and boring, and Billy finds himself longing to paint it.

Billy’s not an extremely good at drawing (it takes concentration that makes his hands shake and his head hurt) but copying some art from a book or something wouldn’t be too hard. Or maybe if he’s super nice, Max will draw it for him and he can color it in. 

Or maybe he should just ask some climbers to grow up the wall.

He sighs, reaching out and turning off the lamp beside his bed. When the room is only illuminated by the moon peeking through the blinds, he begins to fall into an uneasy sleep.


	17. A Magpie and A Treehouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another chapter. I have a creative license

Billy spends his early Sunday morning laying around the house, car keys retrieved and safely on his bedside table, and Neil, Susan, and Max away at church. It is, strangely enough, one of the few things that Neil lets him not participate in. It would make the family image much better if Billy _actually_ attended, but he figures Neil either wants him to look like a rebellious delinquent or has long decided that attempting to threaten Billy into going simply is too much effort. Perhaps it’s a bit of both. Likely both.

Either way, it’s basically Billy’s guaranteed down time from the mess that is the Hargrove-Mayfield family. Billy should probably spend his time doing homework, but the idea of laying down feeling like a piece of shit is appealing. However, Neil isn’t going to be gone forever. 

Billy isn’t feeling much better than yesterday. He’s more stiff than before, and that’s absolutely _wonderful,_ because it’s not Billy actually needs to get off his ass and do things today. 

His morning routine is slower than usual, but Billy forces himself to make his hair all pretty, put in his dangly earrings, shove himself into faded black jeans, a white dress shirt, and his black leather jacket, and shove his feel in combat boots. Mom’s necklace of course, lays right next to his heart. He has to apply a bit of concealer on his cheek to hide the cuts from the shattered pieces of glass from last night, but otherwise he looks like he’s in tip top shape. 

To most people, anyway. He’s pretty sure that Jane would see through it the second she saw him, and probably Joyce as well. Anybody else who might see through it as well isn’t worth mentioning.

He grabs an apple on the way out - how _horrendous -_ and swoops his keys and book bag before heading out to his car.

The ride to the library is uneventful, and he munches on his apple on the way there. It’s probably weird that Billy eats fruit more than anything else, but it’s not like Billy can avoid the whole food cycle. He can’t exactly find the tree the apple came from an apologize for eating it’s potential offspring, but apple trees are pretty forgiving anyway. And any plant that knows Billy for longer than 2 seconds is usually already smitten, so really Billy comes out on top.

Billy walks into the public library, all cocky smiles and flirty eyelashes to keep up the fucking bad boy appearance, and the Librarian blushes and tells him that if he needs it, she’d be more than happy to help.

Gross.

Billy quickly declines and hurriedly rushes over to the section of the library where the computers are located. Billy doesn’t like typing up essays, but writing them is a hell that Billy does not want to experience today. He already has a rough outline, and in a typical stressed high school student fashion, he proceeds to spew out bullshit about Lord of The Flies.

Billy’s not really sure how he feels about the book. It’s a giant damn allegory for Maslow's hierarchy and something about the collapse of society(?), portrayed by some stranded kids going at each other.

He’s not sure if the book is supposed to be a warning to current society or what, but he’s pretty sure that the real world doesn’t have color-changing shells to indicate how much of a future sadist you become.

Gotta love William Golding.

On one hand, the book is startlingly accurate. Billy himself, when he had felt unsafe (almost always) and hungry (also almost always) at the lab, had resulted in very drastic mood swings. He had been a very still quiet child one moment, and then a violent spitfire the very next. It really depended on what the _one of many_ wanted him to do as well. Sometimes the trembling, boiling heat throughout his body needed an outlet, and hurting them satisfied that even if it resulted in a punishment. He wanted them to _hurt,_ and he wanted to feel _safe_ and _not hungry_ and _not so fucking scared._

Billy was born a fighter. It strengthened his bones, fueled his punches, and kept him on his feet. It’s what keeps him from death’s doorstep from Neil, and what allowed him to escape the Cali Labs.

Billy knows he’s not safe. Not completely. There’s a file out there, somewhere, that survived and has information about Subject Seven and his “potential.” Someone surely wants to use that to their advantage, and maybe they’re even desperate enough to seek it out.

Billy knows how dangerous his abilities can be. He doesn’t exactly need to _ask_ the plants to manipulate them, and he can manipulate them in quite a number of ways. Billy’s gifts could worsen, or even start, a devastating war.

It’s an absolutely terrifying thought, and one that Billy spent a lot of time researching. Politics, nuclear warfare, previous international conflicts, previous “I’m going to fuck up your civilians lives” strategies, and the like. 

Billy already has a simplified list of how he himself can fuck everything up beyond compare.

Number One - Billy could destroy any and all horticulture. Billy doesn’t need any fire to destroy crops and make the soil infertile. He hasn’t explored the soil thing too closely, but seeing as he can already screw the chemical makeup of plants, screwing with the source of where plants get their nutrients doesn’t seem like a stretch. Roots naturally hold soil together anyway, and if there were nothing but dead husks of plants, the soil would become useless and blow away. Dead crops is devastating in multiple areas, both for trade, a community, the ecosystem, and the economy. Probably tourism as well, if a place depended on it’s beauty for most of its income.

Number Two - Billy develops an invasive, rapidly reproducing plant that releases extremely harmful toxins and makes them grow across a stretch of land, affecting cattle, other plants, and people. Making a plant release toxic fumes could be an extremely devastating bio-hazard, and it’s stupidly simple for Billy. He’s done it before on a smaller scale, and look where that got him?

Number Three - Billy makes common crops toxic. This would definitely hurt any environment, especially the people. It’s not completely uninspired by Agent Orange, though that was a pesticide. The concept though, of a toxic chemical that can be transferred just by physical contact and leave devastating long term effects? Very terrifying. 

Number Four - Billy could use the plants to completely uproot and destroy buildings and plantations. Very extreme, and most likely would work best in non urban areas (and would probably knock Billy out) but that can be pretty damn bad anyway. It also has a high risk of creating casualties, as in certain climates, no shelter is basically a death sentence.

Number Five - Billy could use the plants as a spy network. He only needs a teeny bitty plant, stuck to the side of a shoe perhaps, to have a complete in on classified information if cards are played right. While this is much more political than the other main ideas Billy has come up with, it still has a lot of international power. People will undoubtedly kill to have an untraceable, “who the hell would think of that?” type of spy. If the wrong people got hands on certain information, it would be very, very bad.

There’s more ideas Billy - and the scientists - have come up with. Billy tries not to think of the more monstrous ones - the ones that make him throw up just thinking about it - but they like to creep into his sleep at night when he least expects it.

Life's funny like that, but as of _right this second and the foreseeable future,_ Billy doesn’t have to worry about it.

So it doesn’t matter. Not really. Even then, Billy would kill himself before he let himself become a tool of destruction.

That’s what Jane was meant to be, and she’s not safe. She hasn’t been gone for what, a little over a year? And she’s made appearances that she is still alive and well? They’re not going to let her go easily, not even if she killed everyone at Hawkins Lab, which is a very real possibility after those damn demodogs. And Dr. Brenner is alive and in hiding if what the ferns are saying is true, and they don’t lie.

So that means that Jane is really, really not safe.

It makes Billy’s stomach clench at the thought, and he inhales slowly to calm down. A quick glance around the library shows no one there, and a quick glance at a clock on the wall shows that Billy has spent a rather large chunk of time just sitting there thinking. He scowls, and hurriedly begins typing up some bullshit essay about symbolism and Lord of the Flies. His teacher will just have to deal with it, essays suck the joy out of everything.

(In the back of his mind however, Billy begins to plan.)

Billy isn’t usually a fast typer, but his desperation to finish the essay means he has it wrapped up and printed in a little over an hour. He sighs heavily as he walks back to his car (ignoring the librarian trying to chat him up, how old even _is_ she?) and tossing his bag in the passenger seat. A quick check in his glove box shows his personal stash of money outside of his wallet, and he grins before getting the hell out of dodge.

First thing on his agenda - find a way to always be in contact with Jane. He’s 90% sure that Dr. Brenner is hiding out in the suburbs - hence his unnervingly little amount of information on what happened after Dr. Brenner disappeared from the hospital last year. Billy’s not going to let Brenner sneak under all of their noses.

If there’s one thing Billy can definitely pride himself in, it’s his ability to get in a store, buy what he needs, and get the hell out of dodge with the minimum amount of distractions. 

(This is a bit of a lie- Billy is always distracted by jewelry. Any and all. Mom used to call him her little Magpie.)

Micheal’s however, is a place that both makes Billy want to roll around in the shiny things and simultaneously run away as far as he can when he sees their fake plants. Everything about them is wrong - there’s no sense of _life_ and they don’t speak to him, they’re so goddamn unnatural that Billy wants to set them on fire. It seems so strange to him that the plants only talk to him, and that to literally everybody else the fake plants seem... slightly different than usual. But not to Billy, never to Billy.

That being said, the small bag contains necklace chains, a variety of tiny cork bottles, a bunch of clear lockets, and a pair of funky looking tweezers. A crafty project that will, hopefully, let Billy keep a very close eye on everyone involved with the Upside Down.

As much as he loves his darling plants, they are limited to conversations in buildings. There's probably minor things that Billy still doesn’t know and it bothers him, and he’s been lucky so far that the party happens to just be very loud, conveniently outside, or people are suckers for sneaky decorative plants.

Billy’s a sucker for plants too, hence his acquired garden practically in the middle of the forest. Which is why his car is parked on an abandoned trail in the woods, and Billy is currently walking peacefully with his keys and bag in hand to his small haven.

As he walks, tree roots move out of his way. 

As he walks, the ferns clear a path for him.

As he walks, the small saplings pull their branches in.

As he walks, Billy never once stumbles over a root, never snags on a creeping plant, and never gets whacked in the face by underbrush.

It could be easily described as a sight that would put anyone to awe, at the way the forest seems to shape itself for this singular and unimportant person. A person commonly known for their fiery temper, to be the spotlight of high school parties, and to flirt shamelessly with anyone on legs. A bad boy who cares only for himself.

Billy is much more than that of course, and the plants know this. Billy knows that himself.

The forest leads Billy on a very familiar and yet ever-changing trail even deeper into the Indiana wilderness. At the end of this trail is an oak tree.

The oak tree is incredibly vast, stretching in any and all directions. Woven in these many, many strong tree limbs is a tree house composed entirely of woody vines, wrapping and looping around each other tightly. 

It’s basically the equivalent of a human sized weavers nest, except Billy’s not a _goddamn bird,_ so it’s just a very...odd tree house. One that unless you’re a freakishly good climber or you can fly, isn’t accessible to anyone but Billy.

Billy smiles at the grand tree - **_“Hello hello Billy!”_ ** \- before bracing himself and stepping on an exposed tree root. The root immediately starts to rise, and Billy grabs hold of a stray vine as the root levels out to the rather large entrance to the tree house. 

“Thank you darling,” Billy carefully steps into the tree house, and smiles at his suspended home. 

It’s not incredibly large, maybe slightly bigger than a living room, but it’s a safe place for Billy to be himself.

The inside is almost entirely covered with different types of woody and non woody vines. Some of the herbaceous vines bloom in Billy’s presence, making him smile slightly. The walls themselves are lined with many, many shelves that are the home to Billy’s small but well-cared for garden. Ranging from budding shrubbery to large ornamental plants, the room is absolutely full of plants. Billy does need _some_ space to himself, even if that’s just a worktable with a small bench and a hanging chair. The entire room is very well lit, considering instead of windows there are many many small holes for light to peek through, that give it an other-worldly vibe. To Billy, it just feels _safe._

Billy’s quite proud of making this. He hadn’t exercised his powers in such a way for quite a while, and while it left him feeling incredibly lightheaded, he now had a place to call home. 

The walls greet him joyously (and loudly), and Billy gently strokes a blooming passion flower on a vine nearby, happy to be back. He watches curiously as said vine pulls away and begins messing around with his pocket, only to emerge with his set of car keys. 

Billy rolls his eyes fondly. “Better not lose my keys punk, I need those.” The vine merely giggles, and reattaches itself to the wall with his keys securely wrapped within it. He shakes his head, and gets to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts about billy?


	18. Air Ferns And Organic Spy Cams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still planning on finishing THIS part of the series before New Years. Or at the very least, January 3rd because I'm like 90% sure that's when school starts back up but ya know. Who knows.  
> Have some crafty Billy, and Billy being a bit ooc but I have a creative license. I still have no idea where I'm going with this series
> 
> (Also did I edit this?? No not really. I'm tired.)

Billy’s pretty proud of the results of his crafting spree.

The pendants are simple, and if Billy’s being honest with himself (which he is) then they show that he clearly has favorites.

For the four rugrats, he’d gone with probably the dorkiest ones. But luckily for Billy, they’re all nerds. At the end of four chains is a small vial with a cork, and inside is a very small (but reliable) amount of cushion moss. It had been a pain in the ass to get the pieces of moss through the neck of the vial, but he thought that it looked cool anyway.

Wheeler and Byers’s got two of the plainest lockets on simple chains, but they’re both easily concealable under clothing. Wheeler has a habit of poking at things she should probably avoid, but considering she’s not dead yet she’s probably going to be really useful. And of course, Jonathon is following her like a puppy.

As much as Billy hates to admit it, he’s gotta give Wheeler kudos for reaching out to Murray Bauman. Even if Bauman injected himself right in the middle of everything with his conspiracies about Russians and Jane, _who the fuck cares,_ at this point. He is however, in an _excellent_ position for Billy to have the in on a lot of urban rumors and happenings. Billy has to actually convince Bauman to take the damn necklace first, but it’ll be fucking excellent if he accepts it.

Or perhaps he can find another way to get a plant into his hideout. That’s one paranoid man.

And a former investigative journalist. Which means that Billy will have to tread carefully around him, because he knows for damn sure that Bauman has the mind to link Billy to the “incident” that occurred in California.

It’s something that he’ll have to think about.

On a less worrisome note, Billy’s decided to give Harrington the prettiest locket. It’s silver and elegant, and sure to piss the pretty boy off. Billy’s gonna have to convince him to wear it, or maybe shame him into it. Either way, as long as he wears it. Which is the most important thing of course. Definitely.

Hopper had been a bit more...difficult. This pendent was sturdier than the others, and actually looked more like a pocket watch (that’s not too old fashioned, right?), but was probably acceptable. Probably. And it’d definitely blend in with his sheriff's uniform. So win win. Hopefully.

Max’s is only marginally different then Harringtons. It’s a square bronze locket with a different type of moss, and hopefully not too feminine. Cause Max would probably break it on purpose if Billy did that, if she didn’t break it anyway because Billy gave it to her.

Joyce’s is much different from the rest. The moss is in a rounded charm, with a small clasp opening on top not unlike an ornament. It’s small and pretty, and while it might have killed Billy to use those fucking tweezers to get the moss in there, he’s pretty sure that she’s going to like it.

Jane’s is different. It’s on a very, very sturdy silver chain, with a pretty tear shaped charm on the end of it. The inside of the tear is arranged less like a green mess and more of a tiny plant scene, complete with rich soil, brightly colored moss and tiny tiny pebbles. 

Jane’s his favorite person out of all of them. Duh.

And then there's his own necklace. It’s simple a golden chain, and hanging from strong wire is a small and flowering air fern from his own plant garden. It’s not that Billy doesn’t like moss, because he does, but air ferns communicate in a way that soothes Billy.

It’s hard to describe it, but air ferns prefer to express themselves through projections, and mainly in a way that can only be described as singing. They’re incredibly sensitive, and if one of the moss troopers senses danger and spreads the word, the air ferns will be able to sense it from farther away and alert Billy sooner. 

Which is kind of the point of them all having the damn necklaces. Because Billy is trying to work with a bunch of people with no self-preservation. 

Billy knows a bit hot headed, but at least he has tricks up his sleeve and doesn’t rely on miracle slingshots and desperate swings of a spiked bat. Looking at you, Sinclair and Harrington.

That’s actually if they accept the gifts. 

Groaning, Billy casts a quick look to the doorway to see that not much time has passed, but probably enough for Neil to be back at the house. Along with Max. Ugh. Sighing, Billy gathers up his organic spy cams, and makes his way to head out.

Monday morning is tense. Billy’s feeling better physically (thank god) but Max is in a weird silent mood, and Billy kinda wants to scream at her for making his morning shittier than it needs to be. He drops her off at Hawkins Middle, and sticks around long enough to see her join 2 out of 4 rugrats (sans Byers and Wheeler), before scoffing and driving to the student parking lot for Hawkins High. 

It’s early. Hawkins Middle begins much earlier than Hawkins High, and even then Billy dropped off Max earlier in order to not miss his next target.

Steve Harrington.

Billy parks his car in the nearly empty parking lot, curls up on the hood of his car, and waits.

For a long time. Clearly Harrington doesn’t actually have any respect for a schedule, because it’s nearly 8 minutes till the bell before he pulls into the parking lot, _and_ he has the damn guts to park almost across the parking lot, which means Billy’s gonna have to hike. Cursing under his breath, Billy grabs the silver pendant and his bag before beginning to make his way over to Harrington. 

He avoids flirty women with practiced ease, and barely acknowledges the group of dude-bros that try to get his attention.

Billy’s on a mission.

Harrington, understandable, becomes unsettled when Billy begins to approach him. “Hey pretty boy. Mind having a quick chit chat?”  
Harrington shrugs a little, looking less unsettled and more annoyed, now. Good. “What do you want, Hargrove? You can’t fuck off for more than two days?” 

“Oh sugar, your words pain me. I’ve come bearing gifts. Well, one gift. It’s pretty though, nice and shiny.” Billy grins, leaning up against Harringtons own car. He grins a little wider when he sees Harringtons mouth press into a thin line at the action. He reaches into his pocket, pausing ever so slightly.

This is a commitment, Billy knows. One that will undoubtedly end up exposing him as gifted, and might cause consequences later.

The vision from the tunnels shoves itself to the front of Billy’s mind, and he grabs the pendant and holds it up for Harrington to see before he chickens out.

“You got me… a necklace?” Harrington sounds so confused, and it takes all of Billy’s self control not to laugh in his face. “Why in the hell would I want a necklace?”  
“One, _rude,_ I made you this damn necklace, and two, it’s real pretty. Pretty and shiny, just like you pretty boy. Get over your ego and just accept it.”

Harrington looks at him for a long moment, not saying anything. Billy has no idea what he’s thinking. “You... _made_ a necklace, just for me? And one that reminds you of me?”

Oh. 

Oh shit. Harrington definitely thinks Billy gave it to him for a whole other reason than he did.

“You wish, Harrington. I’m a real hit. But in all fairness, yours is the prettiest one. I hate you the least.” Billy replies, barely manages not to blush,  
Harrington scoffs, and begins making his way towards the school. Billy curses under his breath, and hurriedly grabbed his shoulder before he can get too far.

 _“Harrington.”_ Billy stresses, pulling Harrington back towards him. Luckily, something in his tone has made Harrington not want to retaliate by punching Billy’s face. “Look, it can slip under your shirt or whatever. I can explain everything later. But for the love of fuck, put it on. Please.” Harrington stares at him for a long moment, before huffing and yanking the pendant out of his hand and inspecting it closely.

“What the hell is this?” He shakes it slightly, and the moss shifts around a little. Billy can feel it’s amusement, and barely holds back from throwing his hands up in the air at the whole damn situation.

Billy’s going to regret this.

“It’s uh. Moss. Cushion moss specifically, you only need to put a few drops of water in it whenever it starts looking dehydrated. It can open. Look, Harrington, I’ll be extra honest with you right now. I’m not exactly thrilled with what I’m doing and I definitely wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it was necessary. Which I will explain later. It’s um. Related to what happened a few days ago, kinda indirectly. But also directly. Ya know what I mean.” Billy stammers out, losing the fight against the reoccurring blush.

Harrington sighs heavily, before carefully slipping it over his head and into his shirt. “I really _don’t_ know what you mean. I’m only putting it on because you look like you’re about to have a heart attack if I don’t. You have some serious shit to explain later, Hargrove.”

Billy waves a hand, unconcerned. “Yeah yeah. Don’t worry about it. We can talk during lunch, if you’re up for it. Hate to break you away from sitting with Wheeler and Byers.”

Harrington opens his mouth to reply (no doubt in anger) but the bell rings before he can reply. Billy winks at him, before strutting towards his next class with the school grace laughing all around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm getting teensy Harringrove vibes. Kinda want to expand on them. Thoughts?


	19. Old Man Sandwiches and Whirligigs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have another chapter.

Billy is more than a little bit nervous when lunch time comes around. He’d managed to avoid Harrington so far, but Billy can’t skip out on this. 

He’s currently stationed by the cafeteria door that will let him escape the fastest. He briefly fantasies about _actually_ running away when Harrington, in all of his sad babysitter glory, walks through the double doors on the wall to Billy’s left. Billy must stand out (because he’s _fabulous,_ damn it) because Harrington's eyes find him almost immediately. Smirking, Billy nods towards the door he’s hanging out by and exits as fast as he can (which is not that fast at the current moment). 

He knows Harrington's following him through the hallways, and he pauses long enough for Harrington to see him before finally going out a door that lets outside. 

One of the things that Billy is grateful for about Hawkins High, is it’s encouragement for outdoor activity. There’s a reasonably decent yard with worn picnic tables, decorative gardens probably from the gardening club (which Billy has more than once considered joining), and several trees hanging around. Thankfully, nobody seems to want to be outside today. 

Billy relaxes minutely, smiling slightly when the nearby greenery greets him. 

**_“Billy Billy and friend?”_ **

**_“Lonely Billy, good Steve Harrington.”_ **

**_“Steve Harrington lonely, lonely alone.”_ **

**_“Empty empty house, only Steve.”_ ** **_  
_** **_“Talking about Upside Down, Billy?”_ **

**_“Shush. Stronger together.”_ **

**_“Silly, silly Billy. Our Billy, bringing gifts!”_ **

**_“Caring, caring Billy.”_ **

Billy scowls halfheartedly at the last comment. “You’re gonna ruin my image if you keep spreading all those rumors about me that I care, you hooligan.” Said comment originated from a nearby sapling birch tree, and he smiles fondly at it. He grins, and he completely forgets about Harrington for a moment as he goes over to gently stroke the branches of the plant. 

“You have some explaining to do, Hargrove.” Harrington’s voice comes from behind him, and he looks over his shoulder to see Harrington standing not too far away, looking a little amused. 

Ah. Yes. He’s caught Billy petting a plant. He turns back to the sapling, projecting a quick apology for a hasty departure before turning away and walking over to one of the picnic benches. Harrington sits in front of him, almost immediately pulling out a sandwich baggie, a coke, and a large bag of chips from his bag. Billy raises an eyebrow.

“Didn’t realize we were actually eating lunch together, Harrington.” 

Harrington shrugs, beginning to open up the bags and chips.“Yeah well, whatever you’re about to tell me is probably going to take a while because _everything_ does, and since no one ever really tells me anything, I’m not letting you leave here until I’m satisfied.” He takes a big bite of the sandwich as he looks back up at him, which Billy recognizes as a baloney sandwich with mustard.

Old man.

“Yeah well, I’m still debating whether or not I should actually tell you anything. Leaning towards running away, actually.” Billy admits quietly, fidgeting with his fingers on the table. Harrington pauses mid chew, giving Billy a blank Bambi eyed look.

“Wait a minute, is it really that serious?” Billy wrinkles his nose.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, you moron. And yes, it’s pretty serious.” Billy watches a thin branch from a nearby tree falls on the picnic table. Harrington makes a move to brush it away, but Billy beats him to his first, grabbing the twig and twirling it between his fingers It’s from a maple tree. It’s not speaking to him, but he can feel life beneath his fingers still.

“Well, I guess this is a good a way as any.” He mutters to himself. He quickly looks up at Harrington, before focusing back on the twig. Billy imagines it growing, lengthening and becoming healthy, to produce leaves and helicopter seeds. Or as Billy loves to call them, whirligigs.

When the twig - branch, now - becomes exactly how Billy imagine it to be, he quickly glances over at Harrington, who has dropped his sandwich on the dirty picnic table and staring at the branch with the most dumbfounded look Billy’s ever seen. He can’t really help it then, when he bursts into laughter. His abdomen burns at the action, but Harrington's expression makes it worth it.

“You can..that’s.. _what?”_ Harrington stutters out, sandwich completely forgotten. Billy finally covers his mouth with his hand, trying to calm down enough to respond, but it’s so, _so_ very difficult.

Harrington carefully takes the branch from Billy, still staring at it in shock. He gives it a shake, and the whirligigs spin down to the ground and all over the table. “How the _fuck_ can you do this?” The comment, as innocent as it is, sobers up Billy significantly. He stops laughing, because really it’s not all that funny anymore. He looks down at his wrist, which still has the black band on it to hide his number.

“Hawkins has an experimental laboratory, so why can’t California?” Billy doesn’t say it very loudly, but it sounds very loud between them.

Harrington turns to look at him, looking more than a little horrified. He gently sets the branch on the table, taking a deep breath.

“I think…” He says quietly, “that you should probably start from the beginning. Because that doesn't explain the necklace.”

Billy sighs heavily. “I’m not really on board with the idea of telling you all the dirty details, so I’ll sum it up like this. California had labs, just like Hawkins did, and I was subject 7. I escaped, and was raised by a woman who was kind enough to take me in as her own. She taught me everything I needed to know, she was really good at that kind of stuff. Had a kind heart.” Billy pauses, trying to ignore the ache in his chest. 

“Had?” Harrington asks softly, looking kinder than Billy’s ever seen him. Billy give him a humorless smile.

“She’s dead. People wanted to get me back, and she was an obstacle to them. It happened a while ago.” Not that long ago. 

“I’m sorry that happened.” Harrington looks like he wants to _hug_ him, Jesus fucking Christ.

“Harrington listen to me. The people who run Hawkins Lab? They have a _lot_ of resources, enough to cover up all of this mess. They’ve already killed people looking for Jane. They’re good at government cover ups, and they're ruthless. _And_ they know that everyone but Max and myself were involved. Which, honestly, they might figure out soon anyway. Dr. Brenner is still alive, hiding out in the suburbs somewhere. I’m just having trouble fucking locating him.” Billy growls the last part, furious that he’s missing out on such. 

“Whoa, okay, We’re gonna seriously need to unpack literally everything you just said. First let's start with this - what can you do?” Harrington looks like he’s going to stare a hole in Billy’s head, and he anxiously rubs at his head as he tries to come up with a reasonable response.

“Main gist of it? I can control plants. Listen to them, heal them. Molecular and chemical stuff. And since plants are basically everywhere, I have the in on a lot of things.” 

Harrington looks back at the branch for one second before his eyes widen. “Is that why you gave me the damn necklace? So you can fucking _spy_ on me?” Harrington looks like he’s going to bolt, and without thinking Billy hurriedly grabs Harrington's wrist with his left hand before he can. 

“No. I have absolutely no desire to spy on any of you for fucking drama. The moss in there is only so if something suspicious happens, upside down or government related. It’s to keep you morons _alive,_ because I have tricks up my sleeve and I’m going to do my damnedest to keep Jane safe. She doesn’t deserve all the shit that’s happened to her so far, and she was at the labs longer than I was. What I went through was almost more than I could handle, and her powers are a whole lot more dangerous, and really, _really_ useful to greedy ass people who don’t give a damn for anyone but themselves. I’m not going to let her get hurt because of them.” Harrington doesn’t look like he’s going to bolt, which is good, and Billy lets go of his arm quickly, blushing slightly. 

“You care about her a lot, don’t you? Even though you barely know her.” A very small smile creeps onto Harrington’s face. Billy scowls, and in revenge he swipes Harrington's cola, ignoring his undignified “hey!” as he pops the tab and takes a sip.

“Careful there, Harrington. There’s still plenty of ways to blackmail you, there’s plants _everywhere._ I’m sure if I ask around, the right tree would give me the _perfect_ embarrassing childhood story.” Harrington laughs and he doesn’t look worried, the bastard.

“Call me Steve, you’ve obviously shared too much shit to not call me that. Plus, you kinda injected yourself into everything and I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon, so.” He shrugs, a “what can you do” sort of gesture. Billy rolls his eyes, and takes another sip. 

“If it makes you feel better, pretty boy. Guess you can call me Billy too, it’d be a bit weird if you didn’t. So, any other questions?” Harr- _Steve-_ looks a bit nervous.

“Yeah, one major one. Also one about Dr. Brenner, but I don't think you need to be talking to _me_ about that. Probably Hopper, or something." He pauses for a moment, licking his lips before continuing. "You don’t have to answer this, but how did you escape?” Billy pauses mid-sip.

Yikes. Billy doesn’t really want to talk about it. 

Something on his face must say that, because Steve raises his hand in surrender. “You don’t have to, I’m just really curious.”

Billy nods silently, tracing the rim of the lid. He sneaks a quick look to see Steve's reaction and nearly throws his hands up at the kicked puppy look Steve is giving to his sandwich.

“You can ask other questions too, I’m not a piece of glass you fuckhead.” Steve rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I know. You’re still an asshat, congratulations. You stole my fucking soda.” Billy shrugs.

“You implied I was a decent person, fairs fair.” Steve grins at him. 

“I know you weren't a shitbag down to the core.” Billy scowls, taking a long sip at the soda before he speaks.

“So what's up with you and Nancy? Heard she was a bit of a bitch to you.” Steve gives him a _look._ “What? I thought we were going all buddy-buddy with the name thing. You can’t judge me, I was raised in a lab.” Steve looks like he swallowed something sour. “Hey, I can make jokes like that now.” 

_“Anyway,_ not that we’re BFF’s, but I’m pretty sure all of the school by now knows that Nancy ditched me for Byers. She yelled at me at the party while drunk, saying how the Upside Down mess was bullshit and how she didn’t love me, so.” He shrugs. “Waste a year of my life with somebody who ditched me for someone like _him,_ so. Ya know. Pretty messed up. What about you? Any ‘bitches in the sea’ that caught your eye yet?”

Bitches? No.

“Not my scene, all the people in this town or garbage. Except Joyce and Jane, but that goes without saying.” Steve looks a little intrigued, and like he caught on to something.

“Nobody? Not a single person in this town has caught your eye?” Steve wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and Billy resists the urge to punch his stupid handsome face. Mess up his stupid fluffy hair and bust his stupid pouty lips.

Oh.

Nope. Not going there.

Shit.

Thankfully, the bell rings and Billy is saved from having to respond. Steve looks sadly at his chips, and Billy rolls his eyes before snatching them, rolling the top, and handing it back. “It’s just chips, man.” He carefully stands up, and begins making his way to the school. "See ya later, pretty boy.” 

As Billy walks away, the plants begin to laugh at him for reasons he doesn't want to acknowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts?????? Did i expand a bit okay???


	20. Kumbaya And Cleaning Supplies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Comments give me life.

“Oh hell no.” Steve fucking Harrington is currently leaning up against Billy’s camaro, grinning like a cat hat got the cream. “Just because I told you I’m a former lab rat to keep everyone from being killed by the government does _not_ mean we’re buddy-buddy now and we hang out after school or sing kumbaya or braid each others hair.” Steve slumps, looking dejected.

“But you have such pretty hair! Come on. It’ll be fun. We can drink beer, cry about college, and eat pizza till we pass out.” Steve looks so put out, and Billy can’t help but groaning loudly.

“I made a mistake. Everything about this is a mistake.” He mutters to himself, walking around to the drivers side. “Didn’t you drive your car this morning? Why are you lurking around mine?” Billy asks, folding his arms on the top of his car.

“Well, your car is _so_ much cooler than mine for starters, and I also wasn’t sure if I could catch you before you left so...” Steve gave him a weak smile.

“You’re pathetic, Steve Harrington. If you really want to hang out, I’m planning on stopping by Joyce’s this afternoon, around 5. Heard yesterday that Byers is back, and doing okay. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you stopping by.” Billy resists the urge to smile when he sees Steve’s face light up.

“Good! Yeah, that’s good. Do I need to bring anything? It’s kinda close to dinnertime.” Billy laughs.

“Steve, even the _plants_ know that you can’t cook to save your life. Tell you what, bring some cleaning equipment on by. I’m sure Joyce wouldn’t mind if you brought some cleaning supplies and cleaned her fridge after you shoved a demodog in it.” Steve looks extremely nauseated, and Billy shrugs. 

“You could have done literally anything else but put it in the fridge. Suffer the consequences.” 

Steve rolls his eyes, kicking the rocks by his feet. “Wasn’t _my_ idea to stuff the damn thing in the fridge. Dustin wanted it for science.”

“Henderson is also the kid whose first thought when seeing a sludgy demopup frog thing was to keep it as a pet, and then when he learns it's actually an interdimensional beast tried to _hide_ it and endangered everyone.” Billy points out.

“Well yeah, but that demodog could’ve killed us and it didn’t because Dustin knew it. So it worked out.” Steve says, grinning.

Billy shrugs. “You could’ve taken it out, probably.”

“Nah, pretty sure I was carrying your half conscious body along with me.” Steve teases.

An involuntary shiver passes through Billy’s spine.

Yes, he remembered that plenty well enough.

The fear coursing through his body, the rage the Mindflayer _made_ him feel, the vision of everything _dead-_

The Mindflayer isn’t gone. It just _left_ Will’s body, up and gone into the air. It’s still fucking _here_ and nobody’s fucking safe and somebody’s going to get hurt or die.

Billy can help stop that, right?

Right. Because that’s why he’s doing all of this. To keep everyone just a little bit safer than they would be if they didn’t have a former lab rat looking out for them. Because _somebody_ has to have the in, to know the loose ends and expose them or end them.

“Head screwed on all right, Billy?” Billy blinks, Steve’s voice breaking through his derailing train of thought. 

“Steve, change of plans. I’ll meet you at your house after I drop Mad Max off, we gotta head to Hopper’s and make a list of all the shit that still needs to be done and dealt with.” Steve blinks rapidly, gaping. “Did I fucking stutter? Scram man, Max will be here soon. I don’t want to have to deal with her bullshit about me and you being seen together. Which, honestly, the whole fucking school probably knows about anyway after lunch.” 

Steve blushes a little, raising his hands in surrender. “Right right, I get the picture. I’ll skedaddle. See you later, I guess.” Steve waves goodbye and begins making his way to his own car, and Billy exhales in relief. He gets in the car and throws his bag in the back, before slipping his sunglasses on and turning on the car to wait for his bitchy half-sister.

Thankfully, Billy doesn’t have to wait too long before he sees Max skating her way towards the camaro. Thank fuck. 

She gets in the car, placing the bag and skateboard by her lap. “What’s up loser?” Billy greets, beginning to back out of the parking spot. 

“School still sucks, but at least this place is more interesting now.” Max says, shrugging. Billy rolls his eyes.

“Because you’ve battled interdimensional monsters and suddenly something becomes worth your time?” Billy asks, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Well you’re not going to get that anywhere else.” She replies, looking at Billy like he’s an idiot. Bitch.

But…

Huh. 

That’s actually something to look into.

“Hopefully not.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well for one, Russians. Cold war. Yadda yadda. But also, Jane is subject eleven. Who knows what the others were capable of, or if Hawkins was the only one to fuck up with dimensions. Doesn’t sound unrealistic, at this point.” Billy says, casting a look at a thoughtful looking Max. “That’s not a suggestion that you try and find out if this is true or not. It’ll get you killed, you fuckwit.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m not that stupid.” Max grumbles. 

“Sure you are.” Billy takes a deep breath. “Right, okay. So look, I’m not gonna be home for a while, I’m just gonna stop by the house and let you out, not even gonna turn the car off. Got it?”

“Yeah sure, whatever. Where are you planning on going?” Billy gives her with a _look_. “Right, you’re not gonna tell me.”

“Got it in one, Mad Max.” 

The rest of the drive is quiet, with Queen quietly playing from the radio, and Billy almost smiles when he sees Max mouthing the lyrics to herself. 

Almost. 

Billy’s a bit nervous when he hits the doorbell on the Harrington Household.

He doesn’t have much time to get the hell out of dodge though, because Steve was (clearly) waiting for Billy to show up.

But considering Billy lives like, 4 minutes away from the Harrington house, it’s a bit surprising when Steve opens the door and is already changed and holding enough cleaning supplies to kill a horse.

“Jesus Christ Harrington, you’ve got enough cleaning equipment to be a housekeeper.” Is the first thing that comes out of Billy’s mouth. Steve gave him an offended look, looking ready to defend himself, but Billy cuts him off. “You’re going to clean a _fridge,_ not a whole damn motel.”

Steve has easily gone overboard. He’s juggling _multiple_ cleaning trays, each completely full of seemingly random bottle of cleaner, gloves, rags, and scrubbies. “You do know that Joyce already cleaned out the fridge right? There’s no way in hell I would have eaten fruit covered in demodog guts.” 

“Then why the hell would I have to clean the fridge again?” Steve demands, looking ready to toss the cleaning equipment to the ground. “What’s with the last name, Hargrove? Thought we were gonna braid each others hair and sing kumbaya. And isn’t eating fruit for you like, eating children or something?”

Billy scoffs. “First off, you stuffed a damn demodog in her fridge. You owe her a cleaning, even if it’s already clean. And frankly Joyce was super tired when she did that, and it’d be _nice_ to do that for her, you dipshit. Secondly, we’re back to last names because you’re a damn knucklehead.” Steve mumbles something quiet that sounds suspiciously like _“that’s fair.”_

“And thirdly, I trust fruit way more than any of that processed shit. Plus it tastes better. And no, because fruit doesn’t really work like that. It’s like, detached from the tree or whatever. Vegetables are usually different though. Don’t ask me the specifics. Now let's hit the road before I decide to shove you over and you end up buried in cleaning bottles.”

Steve scoffs, shoving past him and towards Billy's car. “Hey, aren’t you going to lock your house up?” Billy calls out, watching Steve struggle to open Billy’s trunk.

“Fuck off!” Steve yells back. Billy laughs, and heads back down to his car, taking pity on a struggling Steve and popping the trunk from the drivers side. Steve glares at him, and Billy smirks, settling in the car. He waits for a few minutes, watching Steve place his shit in the trunk and with a helpful reminder from Billy _\- “Somebody’s gonna steal your rich boy shit if you don’t lock your damn door, Harrington!” -_ Steve locks his house door and joins him in the passenger side with a huff.

“What’s your thing about locked doors?” Steve asks, giving Billy a weird look. Billy rolls his eyes, turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway.

“Okay, look in the backseat and grab my bag. We need to make a list of all the shit that needs to be dealt with until Jane can be as safe as can be. There’s a shit ton of loose ends, and we’re kinda spread out thin here.” While Billy is speaking, Steve is already reaching back and grabbing a notebook, flipping to a random page before looking in the bag for a pen.

“Jesus, how many of these damn necklaces did you make?” Steve asks, digging through Billy’s bag more thoroughly. 

“Hey!” Billy snaps, looking from the road to Steve. “Don’t go through my shit, just grab a damn pen. Front pocket.” Steve does indeed find a pen - green, Billy’s favorite color - and makes a small sound in success.

“Yeah yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist. That's just a _lot_ of fucking necklaces. Who all are you giving it to?”

Billy bites his lip, trying to remember everyone. “Jane, obviously. Joyce and Hopper. You, but you already have yours. Max, Sinclair, and Henderson. Both the Byers brothers, and both Wheelers. I have one already, and one other person. Murray Bauman.” Billy says, nodding to himself as he finishes.

“Murray Bauman? The private investigator?” Steve asks, looking at Billy like he’s crazy. Which Billy is obviously not looking at because he’s focused on the _road_ like a _good_ driver.

“The one with batshit crazy Russian conspiracy theories? The one and only.”

“Why on earth do you need to look out for him?” 

“He’s a former investigative journalist. Likes to poke his head in things he shouldn’t, kinda like your ex-girlfriend,” Billy ignores Steve’s grouchy mumbling at that, “but he’s got resources everywhere. He figured out Jane before practically anyone else did, apart from the four rugrats.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you feel the need to protect him with your moss thingies.” Steve points out.

Billy grins sheepishly. “For Bauman, I’m actually having the moss spy on him for information on anything upside down related or related to the government’s secret secret stuff. Bauman is way too paranoid to not look into it, especially if it’s to keep himself safe. I think he could be helpful in locating Brenner, because my darlings struggle in urban areas more than these heavily wooded areas. Obviously. Put my shit back in my bag, we clearly didn’t do any actual work.”

Steve looks incredibly uneasy about that, but Billy ignores him in favor of turning onto a small pathway leading into the woods. He hasn’t really been here before, but thanks to Billy being Billy, he know exactly where that stupid cabin is.

“Where are we going? Thought we were heading to Hoppers. You’re not planning on killing me and burying my dead body in the woods, right?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Billy mumbles. When Billy can no longer see the road (and then some) he slowly drives the car into the forest line, with plants hurriedly moving out of the way. He turns the engine off and releases a deep breath “Give me my bag, pretty boy.”

Steve passes him the bag, rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say princess.”

Billy freezes. _“Princess?_ ”

Steve is unphased, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind him. “Prick.” Billy mutters, slowly getting out of the car. He grabs his bag, locks the car, and shuts it behind him. 

**_“Billy Billy Billy! Hello”_ **

**_“Steve Harrington too!”_ **

**_“Jim Hopper Jane home, safe-”_ **

**_“-not safe, Martin Brenner-”_ **

**_“SAFE, shushhhh-”_ **

**_“Billy protects, Billy Billy Billy…”_ **

**_“Tripwire, Billy.”_ **

**_“Smart Billy, Reckless reckless Steve Harrington-”_ **

Billy struggles not to burst out laughing at what they’re implying, and takes several large steps away from the car. Steve, incredibly reckless but not entirely unobservant, hurriedly follows suit and stands behind Billy. 

Billy closes his eyes and carefully focuses on the greenery around them, and wills it to wrap and grow around his car, to hide and conceal it from any one. He can hear the plants moving, hear whispers of new plants, and hear Steve gasping so he knows he’s successful when he opens his eyes.

The camaro is now almost entirely unnoticeable. New bushes have grown all around it, new vines covering the window panes, and tree’s lowering their branches. It just looks like really, really dense forest brush. Billy feels a bit lightheaded, and he wipes away the blood coming from his nose. 

“Nice. Okay, Come on Harrington.” Billy starts walking, and the plants carefully move and part for him while he walks in the direction he knows the cabins in. 

“I don’t mean to sound like a fucking nerd, but this is probably the coolest shit I’ve ever seen.” A quick look over his shoulder shows Steve looking extremely excited and in awe, even going as far as to touch some of the retreating plants. 

It makes Billy feel warm seeing someone so in awe of his powers. It feels so damn good not to hide them from someone, and even though Jane and Joyce know, he hasn’t been able to causally show his abilities. To do so and have someone so amazed by them, and Steve fucking Harrington in particular, makes Billy blush under the attention.

It causes doubts in his mind, seeing Steve’s reactions.

The others wouldn’t react in a bad way, would they? (Except maybe Bauman. His heads not screwed on right, Billy thinks.)

They accept Jane, embrace her even. She’s one with the group, and they protect each other. Even if it’s filled with drama and parental panic, it’s still...something. Billy doesn’t quite know the word, really. It’s not quite family yet, but more than just friends.

He shoves down the part of him that longs to be apart of such a thing, where he can be with people that accept him for who he truly is, and not worry about it. Even if it’s really, _really_ hard to do so.

Billy realizes he’s been standing there watching Steve petting his darlings (it makes Billy feel something he’d rather not focus on), and he turns back around and continues walking.

“I know, I’m fucking amazing. Now come on and pay attention. Hopper’s secret cabin isn’t that far away from here, and as entertaining as it would be to see you get caught in something, I don’t want Hopper to shoot first and ask questions later.” The lack of feeling of green life is up ahead, and if Billy squints he can barely make out a shape in the distance.

“Right, right.” Steve mutters, hurriedly rushing up to match with Billy’s strides. “So why’d you cover the car? Also cool as hell, but the way.” 

“Mostly so if someone is on the trail they won’t see it. Low chance of that happening, but I’m a bit paranoid.” Billy replies, absently letting his fingers run through some of the greenery.

“How many people now? About your powers I mean.” 

“Well, Mom knew. Jane knows, and Joyce too. I just told you today, and I’m going to have to tell Hopper. Maybe even everybody involved, since the Mindflayer is still around.”

Steve stops dead, and Billy internally sighs as he turns to look at a horrified Steve. “What the hell do you mean the Mindflayer not gone? They burned it out of Will!” Guess Steve didn't read Billy's distressing vision note. Interesting.

“They burned it _out_ of him, dumbass They didn’t actually kill it. It’s weak, probably trying to find shelter and resources to survive until it’s stronger. I bet it’s still in Hawkins too, cause the Gate is here.” Billy bites his cheek at the thought, definitely not on board with the idea that the Mindflayer is still alive. Fucking Hawkins.

Steve’s eyes widen, and he’s beginning to look pale. “That’s not good.” 

Billy snorts. “Definitely not, thanks for your astute input. And would ya look at that, we’re here. Look on the ground for trip wires and shit.”

The cabin is in a lot better condition than Billy thought it would have been. They passed Hoppers car a little while back, but he didn’t point it out to Steve. They only have to step over a single tripwire before they’re both standing at the door, Steve looking chill and Billy beginning to feel nervous. He pushes down the feeling with vigor.

Steve reaches out to knock on the door, but Billy stops him. “They have a secret knock.” He whispers quietly.

“Well Hopper’s home though.” Steve replies back, just as quiet.

Right. Shit.

Steve doesn’t seem concerned though, and fucking knocks right on the door, in a quick cheery pattern. 

Billy sends him a look that clearly says, _WHAT THE FUCK?_

Steve sends him a look that says, _WELL DID YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?_

 _NO BUT THAT WAS STUPID!_ Billy pinches the bridge of his nose, a headache starting to form.

Steve shrugs dramatically, looking panicked now. _WHAT WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?_

 _WE’RE GONNA FUCKING DIE NOW!!_ Billy viciously glares, gesturing angrily to the door in front of him.

Billy can hear the sounds of somebody with heavy feet coming up to the door, and hear a bunch of locks unlocking. The door yanks open, and Billy finds himself staring down a very long, intimidating shotgun with a very angry Hopper inspecting both of them.

He forces himself not to have a panic attack at that moment, and gives Hopper a rough looking smile. 

“Hey Chief. Got a minute?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALSO, this is the end of this story! I've mentioned that I'm going to make this a series and I still plan to do that, but I'm going to stop this fic here. Thought it was a good enough stopping place. Instead of writing then updating, I'm going to completely finish the next fic on everything, and any one-shots related to this series.
> 
> Thank you so much to all of you for reading this story, it means so much to me. I can't express how meaningful it is to me, so thank you again and again and again!

**Author's Note:**

> PLEAASSEEEE comment okay ilu


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